Incredible Truths
by SilverTurtle
Summary: Ten years later Mirage has started a new life, but an unexpected meeting with someone from the past has her life taking a new and startling direction. MirageViolet, mild femslash.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I wrote this while wearing Mr. Incredible pajama pants; they're exceedingly comfortable, though I would have much preferred to have just about any other character on them.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Incredibles, but I do love the movie. It's one of my favorites, and yet it is not in my collection. I shall have to remedy this travesty soon.

Warning: This will have femslash, because that's what I write and there's not nearly enough of it in this fandom. If that offends, then please feel free to stop reading.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It had been nearly ten years since Mirage had last seen the Parr family in person. She remembered that day so clearly; it was the day the man she thought she loved completely disregarded her life in favor of furthering his revenge against Mr. Incredible for a childhood slight, it was the day she had betrayed that same man and helped the family of Supers to get off the tropical island by means of a rocket, and the day she had been stranded on that same island with a shiner and a broken heart for all her troubles. Despite all this she thought of the Parr family fondly, they had treated her better than she deserved for all she'd helped Buddy, no—Syndrome—to do. They had actually treated her like a person, instead of a living day-planner, and that endeared them to her.

It had taken her almost three months to get off Syndrome's island. With both of the rockets gone, no planes, and no access to any funds the escape had not been easy. She had been forced to use the materials in Syndrome's lab to build herself a small boat; she had been a pretty good engineer before she became Syndrome's assistant, so it hadn't been all that difficult to do. What had taken her so long was gathering supplies of food and fresh water, and then navigating her way to safe waters without a map or location device of any kind. When she had landed she was alive but in dire need of a bath and some new clothes. She'd had to start her life all over again. She supposed she should be happy the government hadn't come looking for her once she had arrived stateside again, but that was slightly mitigated by having to become a completely new person unable to use her credentials to land a suitable job.

She had always had a head for numbers though, so she had landed a job in a large accounting firm and had quickly risen through the ranks until she was made a partner and earned more money than she had with Syndrome. It had taken her longer than she would have liked, but she was still young (a mere thirty two, Syndrome had scouted her from her graduating class at university) and able to enjoy her wealth by spoiling herself with a large house, a classy car, and a fantastically monstrous wardrobe. But none of it really meant anything because there wasn't anyone to enjoy it all with her. She had always been a fan of the share-the-wealth philosophy so to assuage her loneliness she often helped in local shelters and made sizeable donations to charitable organizations. Of course this generosity also helped her fight the constant guilt she felt over all those she had wronged at least a little.

Still, ten years is a long time and she had changed a lot from the naïve graduate who'd thought she'd found true love in the quirky brilliant scientist. Now she had a very different outlook on life. She finally recognized that not all people were good, as she had once believed, and that you have to be careful who you trust. It was getting to be easier with the Supers all come out of hiding.

The world had heroes again, of course it also had super-villains again, but having heroes seemed to far outweigh that. And the world's favorite heroes were, naturally, the Incredibles, the crime fighting family of super heroes in matching uniforms. The super strong Mr. Incredible; Mrs. Incredible, formerly known as Elastigirl; their eldest son, the speedster, Velocity; their multi-powered changeling boy, Conversion; and their oldest child and only daughter, with the dual powers of invisibility and force fields, Camouflage. Mirage saw them in the news all the time, saving the world from some dastardly plot or other. She knew their civilian identities and was glad to see them all together still, and surprised to realize just how old the children were now and how mature they had gotten. Violet must be at least twenty four now, maybe even twenty five, making Dash twenty and Jack-Jack ten or eleven.

Mirage couldn't help but compare the Violet she had first seen with this older version. The girl that had once been painfully shy and tragically insecure was now a vibrant young woman with startling good looks, even hidden by the mask, and a brain to match. Mirage found herself wishing she could see her without the mask on, just for comparison purposes she told herself. The girl was incredibly attractive. She made sure to watch every story on the Incredibles and read as many articles as she could, occasionally laughing at the wild speculations of some of the more eccentric reporters. She liked to check up on their progress, they were the closest thing she had to a family now, even though they didn't know it. She would like to one day have them as friends, but she wouldn't even begin to know how to approach them much less how to explain herself to them.

Perhaps then it was a good thing that matters were taken out of her hands when another villain, the Fruitbat, attacked as Mirage was out on the streets returning to her office from a lunch break. The oddly themed villain was destroying the buildings around him and reeling off some speech about how the great and noble fruit bat would one day take over the world when the Incredibles came to confront him. He was really no match for them, and he knew it, which is why he took the first hostage he could and held her at gunpoint. The damsel in distress: none other than the unfortunate Mirage.

*******************************

Violet Parr, a.k.a. Camouflage, looked on as her father tried to speak with this odd villain. "Let her go, Fruitbat!" Mr. Incredible bellowed at the clearly unhinged man.

The response was a loudly wailed, "Not until my message is heard, you over-grown ape!" And for emphasis the gun dug just a little harder into the temple of a very unhappy platinum blonde. Violet studied the woman, feeling like she should know her, like she'd seen her face somewhere before but she couldn't place the blonde in her memory so she focused instead on foiling the enemy.

She made herself invisible after signaling to her family about her intentions and proceeded to sneak up on the unsuspecting man. She was almost right on top of him when she accidentally kicked a rock, signaling her position with the slight sound, and the man whirled around and fired, scoring a hit to her midsection. She was very glad that Edna had made their costumes to be bulletproof; but even so she would have a nasty bruise for a while and she was winded to boot. But she had caused enough of a lapse in attention from him that the rest of her family was able to separate him from his hostage and take the battle away from her. From there her family quickly had matters under control and the Fruitbat was given to the proper authorities.

Violet was still trying to get her breath back when she felt a delicate hand on her shoulder and heard a slightly accented voice ask "Are you alright?" Violet looked up into the greenest eyes she'd ever seen, into the face of a beautiful woman, the former hostage, and was touched by the concern she could see in the woman's eyes as she knelt down to Violet's level.

Captured by the woman's eyes Violet found herself speaking without thinking and replied with a small smile while asking "Are you?"

The mysterious woman waved a hand flippantly in the universal gesture of no-big-deal and answered "Just fine." She paused for a moment still looking into Violet's eyes, for what Violet didn't know but she wasn't complaining, before pointing out "You didn't answer my question" in that alluringly accented voice of hers.

"I'm alright. A little winded and definitely sore, but I'll heal." Violet didn't know what possessed her to pretend like she was all tough, because that shot had hurt like hell and it hadn't even pierced the suit, but she didn't really know how to stop herself either. Before she knew it she was flirting, "Help me up?" she asked with a little smirk and a quirked eyebrow.

The woman responded in kind with a wide smile and the words "Say please." And suddenly Violet had a rush of memory, of a woman ten years ago who had said that, a woman who had helped her family to escape an island and save the world, a woman who had disappeared. Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open as she stared at the woman before her, finally recognizing her.

*****************************

Mirage was aware and even a little pleased with the flirting she and Violet had unconsciously fallen into, but was aware something had changed with the young woman before her. Her slack-jawed state and suddenly pale face worried the older woman.

"You," Mirage heard Violet breathe out. "You were there." Mirage watched as Violet returned from her thoughts and focused solely on Mirage. "You helped my family off that island ten years ago. You're Mirage."

Mirage reared back, standing quickly and backing away her own eyes growing wide with panic and her head shaking side to side. If Violet remembered her then she was no longer safe, she would have to become someone new again, but first she'd have to get away. She turned and ran, hoping to escape. She heard Violet struggle up and follow after her calling out, "Wait! Please wait, Mirage!"

Mirage was fast, but she didn't have the practice the super girl did in moving through debris and Violet caught her up just as she entered an alleyway.

"Please, stop," Violet pleaded with a note of desperation Mirage didn't think she warranted coloring the young woman's voice. Violet got a hold of Mirage's elbow and managed to stop them both in their tracks. "Please don't run away," she said as she turned Mirage around to look her in the eyes, nearly crying.

Mirage didn't know what to do now, the girl had her and would most likely turn her in as a criminal. She didn't want to fight, didn't think she deserved to fight, but she wasn't ready for this, wasn't ready to confront her demons, but Violet wasn't letting her go.

"Where have you been all this time?" Violet's voice shook with an emotion Mirage couldn't identify, "We went back to the island to find you but you weren't there anymore. We—we tried to find you once things had settled down again, but you were gone. We wanted to thank you…for helping us." This news truly startled Mirage and she couldn't help but speak.

"You tried to find me—to _thank_ me? Why? Why would any of you want to do that after what I did?! What I helped to do?!" Mirage's voice held a note of agony, believing that she didn't deserve to be absolved for her sins.

"Why? Because you helped save our lives! Because you could have let Syndrome get away with everything but you helped us to stop him instead! Because we were _worried_ about you!" Violet still had a strong grip on Mirage's arm and it didn't appear as if she'd let go anytime soon. And Mirage, to her surprise, found she no longer wanted to be released.

"Why were you worried about me?" Mirage asked quietly, "I nearly got you all killed. Why would you worry?" To her horror, Mirage felt tears slide down her cheeks.

************************************

Violet looked at Mirage for a long moment, watched the tears running down her face, saw the broken lonely woman before her and felt as though her own heart were breaking in response to this woman's pain. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to heal all of Mirage's wounds, the wounds to her heart and soul that she knew had been left there ten years ago when her life had been turned upside down.

"We were worried because we'd left you stranded on that island, injured and with no means of escape. You weren't the bad guy in all of that mess. You were as much a victim of Syndrome's as anybody; the only difference was he broke your heart instead of your bones." Violet couldn't stop herself from wiping the tears from the older woman's cheeks. "We were worried about you because we cared about you. Because we knew that you had been manipulated. Because we knew that you were a good person. We _care_ because you helped us when you didn't have to, even after Mom had decked you." A small smile pulled at both their lips with that last reminder. "We never meant to leave you stranded, and we weren't going to send you to prison either, we all agreed on that. When we couldn't find you we all got really worried. I think, despite everything, you were a friend and we wanted to make sure you were all right."

Violet's right hand was cupping Mirage's cheek now in a shockingly intimate gesture that got even more intimate when she let go of Mirage's arm only to pull her into a tight embrace.

******************************

Mirage was stunned. She had never thought, never hoped, never even dreamed that the Parr family wouldn't hate her, that they would care for her. She had never in her wildest imaginings dared to think she'd be forgiven. But here she was, standing in the embrace of a very relieved Violet Parr and finding she never wanted to be let go. She held onto the girl tightly, trying to commit to memory the feel of her body, her scent, her warmth.

For the first time in ten years she felt safe again, like she didn't have to hide, and damn, that felt really good.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A/N: I think I'll end it here for now. I'll probably write another chapter later. Anyway, let me know what you think, leave a review.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long. Let me know what you think.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"-crackle-Vi?-crackle-" Violet pulled back from the blonde she was holding to tap the communicator in her ear. "Yeah, Mom?" She hadn't released Mirage completely for fear the woman would try to run again, her left hand rested on the older woman's hip to keep her near.

"-crackle-Where are you? The media is here, we need to go.-crackle-" Violet's eyebrows rose. The news vans were getting faster everyday; it was getting harder and harder to avoid the reporters. She tapped her com again, "On my way."

"-crackle-You know where the bat's hostage went? Your brothers haven't found her yet.-crackle-" Violet looked at the woman they had rescued, the one who'd saved them all those years ago, and smiled. "She's here with me. I'll bring her." "-crackle-Ok. See you in a minute sweetie.-crackle-"

Mirage hadn't been listening to the conversation, she had been studying Violet. The younger woman certainly was a child no longer. She had matured beautifully, just as Mirage had suspected she would. Even though she could only see half of her face Mirage could tell that Violet was a looker, her straight black hair and sapphire blue eyes contrasting nicely with lightly tanned skin. And her smile was absolutely gorgeous, straight even white teeth appearing between full pink lips and showcasing a marvelous set of dimples. Violet's looks were enough to make anyone swoon. Mirage was a little embarrassed that it was her doing the swooning at the moment, but not embarrassed enough to stop.

Violet's voice broke into her musings, "Come on. We've got to get back out there." She felt Violet tugging on her arm again, trying to pull her out of the alley and she resisted.

"Oh no. No way am I going out there to face your family." Despite Violet's earlier assurances, Mirage was still a little frightened that the Incredible family hadn't quite forgiven her for past actions. Of course, she hadn't known exactly what Syndrome had been doing to the Supers, she hadn't had access to all of his files and certainly hadn't had access to the records he kept on the deceased. She had thought he'd sent them home again after testing his machines and it wasn't until Mr. Incredible had hacked into the system that she'd learned just what the scientist had been doing to the world's former heroes. She'd been appalled, but she was still in love, and was prepared to let him explain himself and maybe even forgive him until he'd gambled with her life and she saw just who he was. But she didn't think the Parr's knew all that, and so she wasn't ready to face them all just yet.

"Well, you know," Violet began, mischief giving her eyes a twinkle and pulling out a wicked grin, "I could just carry you. Fireman style or bridal style, either way would give bystanders a lovely view up that skirt of yours. I'm sure they'd like that." Another wicked grin and Violet moved forward as if to pick Mirage up like she'd claimed she could.

Mirage quickly backed out of reach. "On second thought, perhaps I'll just walk out there myself, shall I?" And she proceeded to do just that, moving ahead of Violet and towards the opening of the alley.

Violet stood there with a goofy grin on her face, she had enjoyed the teasing and wouldn't have minded carrying the other woman at all, but she was enjoying the view from behind too. A little spell bound, she watched Mirage's hips sway as she walked away. The woman was just as beautiful now as she'd been ten years ago, maybe even more so because now Violet knew she was one of the good guys.

Mirage noticed that she wasn't being followed and stopped to look back, only to see Violet staring at her with a smile on her face. Quirking her eyebrow and raising her voice she called out, "Perhaps bystanders aren't the only ones who'd enjoy a look up my skirt?"

She knew she was flirting, she knew she probably shouldn't be doing that, but it was so much fun. And very satisfying to see Violet startle and blush the way she had, Mirage hadn't made a person do that in years. Mirage smiled to herself, Violet was very cute when flustered.

The flirtatious suggestion Mirage had offered brought Violet back to reality and once the words registered in her attraction-muddled brain she felt her face heat up and was sure it was an appalling shade of red. Violet could hardly believe she'd let herself be caught staring, but damn if she hadn't enjoyed every moment of it.

Still, she moved beyond it fairly quickly and caught the older woman up. She smiled at Mirage and replied in a tone as laden with flirtation as Mirage's had been, "Maybe later." She waggled her eyebrows at Mirage and continued speaking, "Right now I believe we have my family to reunite with and reporters to avoid." Inwardly she was laughing at the gaping fish look Mirage was giving her and thinking she was beautiful even when she blushed.

Clearly Violet could give as well as she got in the flirting arena, and Mirage was pleased to know that. It would make their interactions a little more fun. Mirage had felt her face heat up in response to Violet's words imagining exactly what that 'maybe later' could mean. She was surprised to find that her imagination could conjure up several scenarios for what might be 'later' between the young heroine and herself, and to find that she would enjoy all of them immensely.

She was knocked out of her pleasant contemplation when the rest of Violet's words reached her, 'my family' and 'reunite' and 'reporters', and then she had another thought.

"Violet?" The younger woman had been walking forward again but stopped to attend the blonde.

"Hm?"

"You said there are reporters out there?" Mirage's thoughts were beginning to take a very solid and particularly unpleasant shape.

"Yes. Why?"

"Perhaps taking me to your family should wait then. It would be very bad if the media finds out I know you, that I have a history with the Incredible family. I wouldn't get any peace, and if they started to follow me…"

Mirage watched understanding dawn on Violet's face. "You're right. That could get ugly. I guess a reunion will have to wait for now." The disappointment was clear in Violet's voice and Mirage found herself thinking up a solution almost immediately.

She dug in her small purse and pulled out a business card and a pen. Flipping the card over she wrote her home number and address on the back and handed it to Violet. "Here take this."

Violet looked at the card for a moment, then with a quirked eyebrow and a little smile asked, "Mia Rahj, really?" Mirage could see amusement glittering in Violet's eyes and she couldn't help smiling in response, flapping her hand dismissively, and giving a little shrug.

"That has my home address on it. I'll have to talk to the reporters and pick up my car before I can go home. That should give you enough time to resume your civilian identities and meet me there. If you think that's alright?" For the first time Mirage questioned her plan, she'd thought it was a good one, but she might just be being presumptuous.

Violet thought for a moment and nodded. This seemed safe enough. And Mirage was providing the reporters with a distraction so the family could get away without being noticed. "That's fine. It's good."

"-crackle-Vi? Come on, we've got to go.-crackle-" Violet twitched a little at the sudden intrusion into her thoughts, but hid it well. She tapped her com, "I'm coming. I'm coming. Jeez." She rolled her eyes making Mirage chuckle a little. "-crackle-Don't take that tone with me, young lady. If we wait much longer we might not be able to avoid the media.-crackle-" Another tap, "I've got it covered Mom. I'll be there soon."

Violet shook her head again and sighed deeply, she loved her Mom but sometimes…oh well. She looked to Mirage, tucked the business card into the arm of her glove, and smiled, "Let's go."

"Yes, let's." Mirage smiled back.

They separated once they hit the street Fruitbat had attacked. Violet went invisible to make it to her family while Mirage picked her way through the debris in the direction of her office and the reporters. As soon as she made it out of the worst of it she was visible to the reporters and since she had recently been pictured in the newspaper for several humanitarian acts they all knew who she was.

"Miss Rahj? Miss Rahj! A few questions please?" The eager face and voice of Miss Kelly Michell, ace television reporter, appeared suddenly in front of Mirage microphone and camera at the ready.

Mirage paused in her negotiation of the rubble and gave a haggard little smile to the young reporter, "Of course, Miss Michell. How may I help you?"

Kelly Michell beamed at Mirage, pleased that this woman knew her name and was willing to answer her questions, "Miss Rahj, sources tell us you were held hostage by the Fruitbat just a few minutes ago, is this true?" The microphone was thrust in Mirage's direction.

"It is. The Fruitbat held me at gunpoint when he realized he could not defeat the Incredibles."

"How did that make you feel, being held hostage?" The microphone was thrust at her once more.

"Irritated." Mirage felt the same surge of irritation even thinking about the rodent like villain.

"Irritated? Not frightened?" Actual puzzlement crossed the young reporter's face as she probed further.

Mirage smiled a little mysteriously, "I had every confidence that the Incredibles would not let anything happen to me. And since I stand here before you without a bullet in my head, it would seem that my confidence in their abilities was not misplaced."

"You were confident in their abilities; did you take it for granted they would rescue you?" Once more the microphone came Mirage's way.

She stood in stunned silence for a moment, then her eyes took on a haunted cast and she replied, "I could never take the Supers for granted." Not ever again, she thought. Her eyes darkened further as she continued to speak, remembering the events of the past, "If people start to take them for granted we'd get a repeat of what happened twenty-five years ago when civilians started suing the Supers for saving them. We put too much pressure on them, forced them into hiding and the world lost its heroes. We must remember that the Supers are human too, they have lives of their own that they are entitled to live, and we can't expect them to be everywhere at once stopping every crime for us. I was just extremely lucky that today the Incredibles were able to stop the Fruitbat before he could do any serious harm." Mirage's eyes cleared as her mind returned to the present and she finally registered what she'd been saying with a little well concealed horror. "If you'll excuse me please, I have business to attend to." She gave Kelly Michell a wan smile and began walking away without waiting for a response.

"Oh! Of course. Thank you Miss Rahj."

As Mirage walked away from the reporter, intent on returning to her office and retrieving her car, she heard, "There you have it folks. The woman was held at gunpoint, saved by the Incredibles, and goes straight back to work! _That's_ the kind of woman I'd want managing _my_ bank accounts, I can tell you that! This has been Kelly Michell for Metroville News."

The Parr family had seen that news report and three of the family rounded on Violet, her mother was the first to get any words out.

"Was that who I think it was?" The question was voiced in disbelief and urgency in the kind of tone that made Violet sit up a little bit straighter and try to remove the deer-in-the-headlights look from her eyes.

"-ahem-" Violet coughed into her fist to regain a little of her composure, "Well, that depends on who you think it was—"

"Violet Parr!" Helen Parr broke in, once more infusing her voice with a tone that would brook no further beating around the bush, "Was that really Mirage on the television screen just now?! _She_ was the hostage?!"

Violet sank a little into her chair and gave her mother a sheepish smile, "Yes. She was the hostage, and that was definitely her talking to Miss Michell. She gave us just the right amount of time to get away, you know."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Violet's father, Bob Parr, asked.

"Why didn't you tell us that she was so hot?!" Her brother Dash asked at almost the same instant and with a great deal of indignation. Their mother shot him a look that would melt steel to which he responded, "What?! She is! And I didn't get to flirt with her!" He was moaning his lament pathetically, "You all know that it's practically _required_ that Supers flirt with the beautiful women they rescue; that's _my_ job!" A look of horror mixed with intrigue stole over his features and he couldn't stop himself from asking with a lecherous grin, "Vi, did _you_ flirt with her?"

As the eyes of every member of her family turned to Violet once more she felt her face heat up and just knew she was turning an uncomfortable shade of tomato red. Seeing this Dash crowed with laughter and shouted "You _did_! You totally did! That's wicked awesome! Violet and Mira-age sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g! First comes love, then comes-ouch!"

Violet had smacked his arm, "Knock it off Dash!" Her traitorous face was heating up still more, remembering some of the thoughts she'd had while she had indeed been flirting with the older woman.

Of course her words had no effect and soon JackJack had joined in the song. Together the boys finished their rendition of the song badly off-key and started it up again in a more boisterous round. Violet wanted to pound on her brothers but knew it wouldn't do any good, and really she couldn't deny them their fun, if she'd caught either of them flirting she'd be teasing them in a heartbeat, and damn her for believing it but fair _is_ fair.

"Dash, JackJack, that's enough. Leave your sister alone. We've got bigger things to talk about, like where the heck has she been for the last ten years and why turn up again now?" Violet blessed the voice of reason that was her mother for shutting her brothers up.

She sheepishly offered up, "Uhm, I got her business card. We could just look her up."

Mirage couldn't help but smile at the reporter's antics. She just hoped the Parrs had been able to get out of there without being seen. She pulled out her cell phone while walking towards her work and dialed her business partner, when he picked up she said "Monty? I suppose you've seen the breaking news?"

"I have," came the bellow of her aging business partner, Monty Bustle, a large Texan man with a heart of gold, "Gunpoint, Mia-girl? Really?"

She smiled a little, Monty almost sounded worried. "Yes, Monty. It has been a—trying afternoon."

She heard his bass chuckle over the phone. "You have a gift for understatement lil'lady. You take the rest of the day off, Mia-girl. I've already had your secretary cancel all your afternoon appointments. It's Friday, have a long weekend." That's just what Mirage wanted to hear.

"Thank you, Monty. I think I'll do that. I'm coming to get my car."

"I'll be waiting to see you off." With that he hung up the phone.

And when she got there, there he was. Waiting at her car in all his big-man cowboy glory, just like he said he'd be. He scooped her up into a bear hug and squeezed the breath out of her then put her down just as if he'd never done it at all. "You take care of yourself Mia-girl."

A little breathlessly she replied, "I will Monty. See you Monday." She climbed into her car and was off. Her mind whirred thinking about the meeting to come with the family she had helped to almost destroy. She knew she'd have to face them all sooner or later, she'd just hoped it would have been later; she really wasn't looking forward to facing their wrath. Though, if Violet was telling the truth, there wouldn't be any wrath to face. Still, she was nervous. She wanted badly for this to go well.

She knew that the Parrs were still in contact with the NSA (National Supers Agency), and that they would probably have Rick Dicker look into her recent history, she just hoped that what they'd find would cool any possible tempers. She knew also that now that Rick Dicker knew she was alive and stateside he'd probably put surveillance on her just to be sure she wasn't up to no-good. That didn't really worry her; she could deal with surveillance, as long as it wasn't too invasive.

What did worry her was the thought that very soon she would have five possibly angry Supers in her home, well perhaps only four because Violet hadn't been angry at all earlier, but still. Four upset Supers did not bode well for her furniture…or her bones if it came to that.

Violet pulled the card out of the bag she'd put it in when she'd put her civilian clothes back on and started to hand it to her mother, but Dash intercepted.

"What's this?" He said, amusement tinting his voice, "Oh! You got her home number and address too! Violet, you playa! Who knew you could be so effective with the ladies?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and waved the card about. "Maybe you should be my wingman next time I go out…" And because he looked as though he were seriously considering this, Violet slapped the back of his head.

Helen snatched the card from his hand while Violet glared at her younger brother and said "Shut up, dweeb. She gave it to me so we all could meet her at her place later."

"She wants to meet with us?" Bob Parr asked with a fair amount of suspicion in his voice.

Violet replied in utmost seriousness, "No. She didn't want to at all. She only gave me the card because I convinced her we're not out to get her. She was scared to meet with us," her mother gave a questioning glance at that and Violet responded to the unasked, "she didn't say so but I could tell. I was going to bring her to you at the scene but she reminded me that it's not a good idea to let the general public know that you might know Supers personally."

"Why was she scared to meet with us?" JackJack's question was voiced with honest confusion, he'd only been a baby ten years ago, but the rest of them remembered and could think of a dozen reasons why she might be scared. She didn't know that they had gotten a lot of information since she'd helped them get off that island and could no more blame Mirage for what had happened than they could blame birds for toxic waste.

Helen looked at her family sadly before focusing on JackJack and answering honestly, "A lot of stuff happened ten years ago, honey. Mirage was an unwitting party in some pretty bad stuff, her boss was doing terrible things to Supers, and she doesn't know that we know none of it was her fault. She probably thinks we blame her for what Syndrome did, and once we might have done just that, but we recovered a lot of information from his island and we probably know more about Syndrome's plans than she did."

JackJack thought for a minute before asking another question, "Does she think we'd hurt her?"

Dash fielded this one, "Nah, she's go to know we never would. We're heroes after all!"

"Well," Bob said, "All the same, I think we'd better have Agent Dicker look her up from that business card. I'll give him a call. What's the name on there, hon?"

"Mia Rahj," Helen said with a little laugh in her voice, "Really?" She looked to her daughter for confirmation.

Violet smiled widely, "You know, that's exactly what I said."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A/N: Okay, so let me know where you all stand on this thing, leave a review, and if you're feeling really adventurous read my other stories!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's a chapter to pass the time, hopefully I'll have another one up soon. By the way, this took a disgustingly long time to write, I'm very disappointed in myself. Also, for those of you who don't get the joke the name 'Mia Rahj' is supposed to sound as much like Mirage as possible, that's why Violet and Helen think it's just a little amusing.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

They had gotten all the information they'd asked for, and more. Agent Rick Dicker, front runner for the National Supers Agency, had done his job remarkably well and found records for the past ten years of Mirage's life as Mia Rahj. Agent Dicker and the Parr family had been stunned by what they'd found. Stunned and pleased.

Violet had known Mirage couldn't have been a bad person, a bad person wouldn't have helped them off Syndrome's island, but she'd had no idea just how good a person Mirage really was. It was no wonder the reporters knew who Mirage was, at least as Mia Rahj; she had to be one of the most generous business women in the country!

Violet read aloud a news article from the file Agent Dicker had sent them.

"Mia Rahj, a heretofore unknown entity in the business world, has hit it big making billions for several clients in daring business moves and subsequently earning millions for herself and her firm. Records show that she doesn't keep the money long, however.

"The young accountant, from the firm of well-known Monty Bustle who manages accounts for some of the richest people in the country, has made several contributions to various charitable organizations around the world including donations for cancer research centers, HIV/AIDS studies, disease research facilities, and a multitude of orphanages, battered women shelters, and homeless shelters. When asked why she was making so many donations she replied: 'What else am I supposed to do with it? I've invested some to live off of, but the rest can be put to better use elsewhere, like in medical research or in developing education. I don't need most of it; I have what I need, so why not give the rest to the people who can do some good with it?'

"Donations made by Miss Rahj for just this year total to nearly three-hundred million dollars and there is every evidence in public record that she began making donations to various causes seven years ago, meaning that over the last eight years her donations total to around 2.4 billion dollars. Her standard of generosity is apparently catching as many celebrities, following Miss Rahj's example, have begun funding organizations of their choice ranging from animal shelters to space research. The world has never seen a philanthropist as generous as Miss Mia Rahj, which is why this newspaper is dubbing her an honorary Super we like to call The Giver. The Supers may save the world, but Miss Rahj makes sure we want to live in it."

"There's dozens more like that," Helen Parr said as Violet finished reading, "She's helped build parks and playgrounds, homeless shelters, soup kitchens…for God's sake! Even the acreage around her house has become a cause, she bought it and now it's a national wildlife preserve. Where is she getting all this money?"

Bob was looking through other files Agent Dicker had sent, "Rick says here that all the money has been legit. She's earned it; it's been taxed, though with all the donations she's made the tax is practically negligible, it looks like the government is going to owe _her_ money. She's had no access to any foreign accounts and the government took all of Syndrome's money when we went back to Nomanisan Island. Any money she's been using has been earned legitimately through her job."

Dash whistled, impressed. "So she's been making enough money that in the last eight years she's been able to donate two billion dollars and still support herself? That is awesome. She could have bought a private jet with that kind of money."

"She wouldn't have though," Violet said, another file in front of her, "says here that she doesn't travel. It looks like hasn't left the city since she got her job. Guess she got enough of it ten years ago."

"I have to admit," Helen said gathering up all the folders, "this is very impressive. But it's a little odd too."

Dash looked up, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why would she be giving away so much money? Anybody else would be amassing their wealth, but she's only keeping enough to support herself while all the rest pretty much goes directly to the charities, why?"

"Guilt." Violet felt the eyes of her family on her again, but she didn't look up from the picture of Mirage she was holding. She was too busy thinking about the woman Mirage had become. She was beautiful, obviously, but she was more than that too. She's smart and talented; she had to be something special to start a new life so quickly and so successfully. Violet couldn't help but be awed. Mirage had become the complete opposite of the man she had once worked for, but that wasn't enough. Violet doubted it would ever be enough for Mirage. She had seen what Mirage had told Kelly Michell about Supers, she felt bad for all that had happened. She knew what Syndrome had done, that he'd killed all those people, and she had helped. She was trying to make up for all of the bad she had unknowingly helped Syndrome commit by giving away as much money as was feasible, but it wouldn't ever be enough. Mirage knew that Supers were dead and no matter how much charity she did it would never bring them back, but she might as well do what she could.

Helen Parr watched her daughter, waiting for her to elaborate; she only spoke when Violet failed to explain, "Vi?"

Violet came out of her thoughts when she heard her mother's voice, "Hmm?"

"What do you mean guilt?" her mother asked.

Violet blinked, she couldn't believe they hadn't figured it out yet. She patiently explained, "You asked why Mirage would be giving away all that money. It's because of guilt."

Suddenly something clicks with the older members of her family, they understand. They know. But JackJack doesn't, and he asks the question they didn't want to answer, "What does she have to feel guilty about?"

Violet looked at her younger brother, still so innocent for all the evil that he sees, and takes pity on him. "Nothing really. She didn't do anything bad. But her boss did, you remember what we told you about what happened ten years ago?"

JackJack nodded, watching Violet, completely intent on her words.

"Well, she worked for that bad man we told you about. She didn't know what he was doing at the time, but she knows now and she feels bad about it. I think she's trying to make up for what her boss did by helping other people with her money."

"She sounds nice." JackJack was firm in that at least. He was determined that he would like this lady. He'd been told she'd helped his parents and his brother and sister, and now he's been told that she helps people by giving them money. In his mind this lady is a _good lady_, and he wants to be her friend.

Violet smiled at her little brother, at his innocence and sweetness, and said to him, "She is nice, JackJack. Very nice."

Mirage wasn't feeling very nice at that particular moment in time. More reporters had tried to talk to her as she was leaving the parking garage. Then traffic had been messed up, the city was in a constant state of construction because of all the super villains coming up through the streets, so it had taken longer than she'd have liked to get home. But still, she had gotten off work early and that was always nice. Maybe she'd even get some time to relax before the Parrs came over.

Her idea of relaxation had changed in the last few years. It used to be relaxing for her to go out and meet people in clubs, do the whole dancing and drinking scene. Now it was curling up with a book, taking a long bubble bath, cooking, sometimes even just taking a walk. If she was really lucky she'd get the chance to do all of that before they came over. She already knew she was going to cook before they got there, it wouldn't do to have guests and not feed them, besides their lunches had probably been interrupted by the Fruitbat anyway. It was likely they'd be hungry.

She was still worried about whether or not they were going to be mad at her, but had decided that she was willing to take the chance. She had very few friends and no family. All of her bridges had been burned when she'd left with Syndrome ten years ago, and since she was technically still in hiding she couldn't contact her family. She didn't make friends easily, she had learned a hard lesson about trust, and tended to stay away from forming close relationships. The only exceptions to that so far were Monty and her secretary, Allison Hughes. Everyone else she had met became acquaintances at best, brief footnotes in her memory at worst.

Mirage felt she was ready to have some friends. Friends who knew about the part of her past she was afraid to talk about, the part she was most ashamed of, the part where she had helped to almost destroy the Supers. Since the Parr family already knew she had worked for Syndrome, had been foolishly in love with him, it was a subject she wouldn't have to broach. And she could be a good friend to them in return. She knew about their double lives, she would never tell their secrets for that would be to reveal her own, she would understand the sudden need to leave, and they wouldn't have to make excuses to her, she could understand the pressures they were under, she could be someone for them to talk to. She really wanted that.

Without consciously trying Mirage made it home. Her house was large for no other reason than that was how it was built, and it was the only one she had even remotely liked when she was house hunting. It was three stories, had ten bedrooms, four full bathrooms, two car garage with a very long driveway, a dining room, living room, laundry room, massive kitchen (the only kind of kitchen Mirage liked anymore), drawing room, a room that could only be called a parlor, and several other smaller rooms she didn't really know what to do with (she had turned one into a small library), and it had a disgustingly large master bedroom closet (a walk-in big enough to be called a bedroom in its own right). Outside the house was just as impressive, a near Olympic size pool, a generously sized jacuzzi, a hedge maze you could get lost in for days, a gazebo to be found in the center of the maze, gorgeous landscaping, and natural acreage all around her grounds that was now protected by the EPA. Okay, so it was less of a house, more of a small mansion or castle, but she liked it anyway.

She had no maid, and wouldn't hire one even if she'd wanted, cleaning was almost therapeutic for her and she did it well. She cooked for herself. She knew how to fix just about anything that could go wrong with the house, she could even repair gas lines if it came down to that, so she didn't really need to worry about anything else. She did have to call in people to help her move her furniture, there wasn't a lot of it, it was just really big, really heavy, and really old. She'd always been a fan of older furniture and she had restored a lot of pieces she found in antique shops or even online. But she couldn't move most of the furniture by herself so if she wanted to redecorate she had to summon assistance. Not that she redecorates often, it upsets her cat.

Yes, a cat. Mirage had always liked cats, but felt it would be irresponsible to have one while she was in college, and then Buddy had consumed her life and so she hadn't had one since she'd lived with her parents. She had one now. His name is Borris. Borris is large, he has long fur, and he's mostly black but has white boots and a white smear across the bridge of his nose. Borris is heavy because he's muscular. He has a lot of room to run around, up and down the stairs, and outside if he's so inclined, so he gets a lot of exercise. Sometimes he comes in smelling bad, but Mirage forgives him for that after she's bathed him. Borris makes an excellent pillow. Borris is Mirage's staunchest friend, and not just because she feeds him. Borris loves Mirage because she saved his life after he'd been hit by a car while he was still very small; she got him medical attention and took care of him while he was recovering, and so Borris would take care of Mirage by being there for her whenever she needed a hug. Borris was good for hugging being warm and soft and very much like a rag doll when picked up. Mirage loved Borris because he was Borris and he made her laugh.

Borris was there to welcome Mirage as she came through the door. He greeted her with a high pitched meow incongruous with his appearance and promptly rubbed against her legs. His salutation over, Borris accompanied Mirage to the kitchen, where she obligingly got out a can of his favorite wet food and placed it in his dish just the way he liked it. While Borris ate Mirage set about preparing food for the guests she was sure would arrive soon. Looking into her pantry and refrigerator she decided that finger foods were the order of the day and set about making small ham and turkey sandwiches, pigs in a blanket, a couple bowls of chips, a vegetable platter and a fruit platter. She always had fresh fruits and vegetables around, it made snacking healthy easier. She had just finished when the front bell rang.

Borris accompanied her to the door and sat on the stair watching it, doing his job making sure there wasn't anyone bad on the other side of the wood waiting to hurt his mistress. Mirage smiled at his attentiveness and opened the door. It was time to face her demons and hopefully come out with friends.

She smiled when the first face she saw was Violet's. The younger woman's presence was strangely reassuring to Mirage and she managed a wide smile as she opened the door the rest of the way to allow them all entry, "Welcome to my home. Please come in."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A/N: There's another chapter down. Let me know what you think. Also, if there's anything you'd like to see happen in this story, let me know, I'm always happy to fit things in-between all the character angsting (yes, I'm aware it's not a word, I just don't care). So, leave a review or PM me or whatever, I'm waiting with bated breath for your responses!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello all! I hope you're still enjoying this story, here's the next installment for you. Billy Rose, this one's for you because you made me smile with all that hopping. And for you, chibicoco, because you asked for them to kiss, there's a little something in there that might make you squee. And for you, shadklad, because you're my slave and I didn't even have to pull out my wicked mind control device. You guys are awesome.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The Parrs took Mirage's invitation and walked forward into her home. "This place is _huge_!" was Dash's exclamation as he walked through the door looking around the entryway and whistling in appreciation.

Violet rolled her eyes at him though she silently agreed, the place _was_ huge. She'd had no idea that Mirage's home would be this large, of course she had read about it in the file, but seeing it was something else.

"Please," Violet heard Mirage say, "Make yourselves at home." Violet looked at the older woman and saw the embodiment of nervous sincerity. Mirage was wringing her hands together and her smile quavered a little, as though unsure of whether she should have said that.

Dash took her at her word and was immediately rushing about the house and exclaiming at the things he saw. "Look at the size of this place! Is that a pool table! Awesome, we so have to play later! Wow, you could fit a professional football team in here! Is this supposed to be a bathroom, because I didn't know bathrooms had siege engines in them."

Mirage blushed hearing all of Dash's remarks. She knew her home was large, but to have someone exclaim over it this way made it all seem ostentatious, like she was trying to impress people with it, which she wasn't because she didn't really care all that much and she never had company anyway.

Before she had too much time to think about all of that though, Mrs. Parr caught her by surprise by hugging her. It was a fierce embrace, the kind a mother gives her child after she's been assured of its safety after a traumatic event. "It's so good to see you." The words didn't even sound false. Mirage had sort of expected that she'd be greeted like the old high school acquaintance that no one really liked but had to be polite to anyway, but here she was being treated like a long lost child. She wasn't ready for anything like that.

"Hey! Woah there kitty! Ouch! Ouch! No more claws! No more claws! Help, mad feline! Help!" Dash had tried to rush up the stairs without taking notice of Borris sitting on them. Borris had made sure he couldn't be ignored, and even though Dash had super speed he wasn't quick enough to avoid Borris' claws.

The Parr family and Mirage turned to face in the direction Dash was making all that noise and found an angry cat puffed up and hissing at the foot of the stairs. They hadn't expected that Mirage would have a cat, especially not such a large one.

Violet and the rest watched as Mirage hurried over to the stairs and scooped up the cat murmuring to it, "It's alright, little one. These people are…friends." To Dash she said "Sorry about that. He's just a little protective of his territory." To Borris again, "These are the Parrs, little one. Nothing to fear. That is Dash. And here are Bob, Helen, JackJack, and Violet. They won't hurt you." All while she had been talking to the cat she had been walking in the direction of the rest of the family, away from Dash, petting and soothing the feline. She came to a stop a few feet away from them while Dash resumed his survey of the house and rushed up the stairs. They could hear more exclamations as he found each new room.

Their attention was diverted when JackJack stepped forward and studied Borris and Mirage, his head tilted to the side meaning he was focusing intently. He held up his hand for Borris to sniff before petting the animal. Mirage knelt down to give JackJack better access. They were all surprised when JackJack said suddenly, "He's a good kitty. That's good."

Helen gave her youngest son a quizzical look, "Why's that JackJack?"

"Good kitties don't stay with bad people, so she must be a good person because this is a great kitty. He's nice." His simple assertion had taken them all aback.

Violet thought about it for a minute before she nodded and said, "You're right JackJack. He is a nice kitty. And everyone knows only good people can have nice kitties."

JackJack beamed at Violet then turned that smile on Mirage and asked, "What's his name?"

Mirage blinked, "Borris."

"Why Borris?" JackJack was still petting the cat and everyone could hear him purring as JackJack scratched under his chin.

Mirage hadn't thought about why she'd named the cat Borris in a very long time, not since she'd named him nine years ago in fact.

"Well, when I found him he was very young and hurt badly. I took him to the vet and they asked me his name. I knew he needed a good strong name to help him heal and grow, so I named him after the strongest man I ever knew."

"Who was that?" JackJack asked with wonder in his eyes.

Mirage smiled in fond remembrance, "My grandfather."

JackJack nodded, "It's a good name."

Just then they all heard Dash exclaim from somewhere in the back of the house, "Is that a _pool_?! I am _so_ swimming in that!" They heard his feet come charging back in their direction and watched him skid to a halt next to the still kneeling Mirage and her suddenly very tense cat. "Can I swim in your pool? It's so big! I've got try it!"

Mirage was a little taken aback at the onslaught of noise, she'd forgotten how excitable Dash was, but she recovered with remarkable aplomb. "Of course. You'll find towels in the closet on the left side of the hall, just before the back door."

Dash was off again in moments. They heard the closet open and close and the back door slam shut behind him with almost no intervening time. Then they heard "WOOHOO!" and a very impressive splash.

JackJack's eyes had lit up when he heard Dash mention the pool, he was eager to see it for himself, but he was also a great deal more polite than Dash. "Miss Mirage?"

"Yes, JackJack?" Mirage had been staring after the whirlwind that was the Parr's eldest son, but with some effort pulled her attention back to focus on their youngest.

"May I go swimming, too?" He was still petting Borris' head but his mind was obviously elsewhere.

"If your mother thinks it's alright…" Mirage looked up and saw Helen give a nod of confirmation "then sure. Just grab a towel first and remember not to jump in wearing all of your clothes."

"Okay! Thanks!" And he went running down the hall, though considerably slower than Dash had.

Mirage laughed a little then spoke to the cat still in her arms, "Why don't you go and make sure those two stay out of trouble, Borris." She set him down and he trotted after the Parr boys quite as if he had understood every word she'd said, and maybe he had.

Mirage watched her cat disappear around a corner with his tail swishing in excitement. She saw a hand enter her field of vision and looked to its owner.

Violet was offering her hand to help Mirage up; the woman was still kneeling from talking to JackJack and Borris. She was smiling with her head tilted a bit and a question in her eyes.

Mirage took the offered hand and Violet pulled her up with no apparent effort. Then Violet surprised them all by kissing Mirage's cheek.

"Violet, why-?" was as far as Mirage got in questioning her before Violet pointed at Mirage's clothing and everyone could clearly read the apron that said 'Kiss the Cook'.

Helen tried to hide the smile behind her hand but Mirage saw it anyway and she blushed. Bob outright laughed. And Violet just smiled that shy smile of hers and looked at Mirage with twinkling eyes.

Mirage raised her eyebrow and asked Violet, "Do you always follow orders given by aprons?"

Violet grinned hugely and said, "Only when I think I'll enjoy them," with her eyebrows waggling. Her smile was almost predatory, flirting she could do. Mirage looked at her startled, eyes wide with shock and amusement. Bob and Helen stifled their chuckles behind closed fists; the only noise escaping from either of them was a strangled 'snrk'.

Mirage, still blushing, said "Ah, well, yes. Anyway, I was putting together some food platters before you arrived. I had thought perhaps you'd all be hungry. I thought the Fruitbat may have interrupted your lunches." Violet was still smiling at her saucily; it was nice, very nice actually to have one so beautiful obviously interested in her, but also a little unnerving.

"That was very nice, Mirage. He actually did interrupt lunch." Helen said graciously, hoping to ease the younger woman's nerves a little. She could see that Mirage was on pins and needles wanting to please them. And Violet wasn't really helping teasing her that way; she knew her daughter was only doing it to lighten the mood though so she didn't say anything.

Mirage flashed a quick smile and said, "Right, well, the living room is this way, I put the food in there." She turned, still blushing a little, and led them further into her house noting that they had all removed their shoes (even Dash and JackJack, though she hadn't seen either do so) and was touched at that kindness. She felt eyes on her as she presented her living room to them and turned to see Violet watching her pensively, quite a change to her earlier look.

Violet couldn't stop herself from asking, "Did you really name your cat after your grandfather?" The idea was a little hard for her to grasp, Violet had never considered naming a pet after a relative; famous historical figures were fair game, but not a relative.

Mirage sat in a large armchair while Bob and Helen sat on the couch and Violet remained standing nearby. "Oh, yes."

"Why?" That came from Bob with the air of polite inquiry.

"For the reasons I told JackJack, really. I found little Borris after he'd been hit by a car. He was still very young and very small. I rushed him to the vet and they asked me for his name to put in their files and all I could think of was my grandfather."

Her brows furrowed, Mirage paused to remember everything a little more clearly, "My grandfather was the strongest man I've ever known, and one of the kindest. He was the eldest of six, one of three to make it out of adolescence, and named after his father. He and my grandmother lived with us. My mother was their only child, and they helped to raise my siblings and I. He would sit me on his knee and tell me Russian fairy tales just like his father had for he and his siblings. He told me the Spanish ones he learned from his mother. He had been career military, but he was never too strict with us. He was always telling us how important it was to remember where our family came from, that his father from Russia and his mother from Spain had immigrated together to America and made a good life for all of us here. I was the only one to listen to him. He taught me Spanish and Russian. I taught him how to play Tiddly Winks and Chutes and Ladders. He taught me how to play Risk and Monopoly and Chess. I taught him Connect Four and showed him how to finger paint like a pro."

Mirage smiled sadly, her eyes misting over remembering him, "He was my best friend in the world. Always there for me when I was hurt or frightened, making things better. He taught me to be strong and to trust my instincts. He told me that my education was the most important thing, that it would lead me to my future. I loved him better than anyone in the world."

Helen's own eyes had misted over listening to Mirage speak of her grandfather in such an obviously devoted way, "What happened to him?"

"He died while I was away at college. No one had told me he had gotten sick. I wasn't with him when he died, and that nearly killed me. I didn't speak to anyone for weeks after his funeral. I was furious with my family for letting him die and choking on my depression, my grades were slipping. I knew he'd be disappointed in me if he could have seen me then, but I couldn't help myself. My mother tried to consol me by telling me he was watching over me in heaven with grandma, but it didn't work. I was lost without him. He'd been by my side for everything all of my life, I didn't know what I was supposed to do with myself anymore. That's when Buddy approached me. I mistook his…attention for love. And we all know the rest of that part of the story."

Violet, who had been standing close, moved closer and laid a hand on Mirage's shoulder. Mirage reached up and took that hand in her own and held it, "I named my cat after grandpa because I saw that the little kitten was a fighter, a survivor, just like grandpa had been. I was right, and little Borris is my best friend now just like grandfather was then."

Helen sniffled and let out an "Oh, honey" before standing from the couch and dragging Mirage into another hug. Mirage didn't resist. They both pulled back and dabbed at their eyes with tissues from a side table. Even Bob was looking a little misty eyed at hearing the story. Mirage gave the older woman a weak smile of thanks. Mirage felt the hand on her shoulder again and watched Violet as she slid into the armchair next to her, hand moving down her back to rub comforting circles there, and she couldn't stop herself from letting her head fall against Violet's shoulder for a moment and leaning into the younger woman.

Helen was watching the interaction of her daughter with this suddenly fragile seeming woman. She saw something in her daughter's eyes that she had never seen before, a spark of some deeper caring, a seed of something that could easily flourish into love if given the chance and proper encouragement. Watching the two of them together she suddenly saw that they were right for each other, right in the way that Bob was right for her, they could complete each other. She saw how easily they fit together, how simple it all seemed, and she decided that she wouldn't mind at all if their casual flirting and tentative friendship turned into something more.

The younger women, completely oblivious to Helen's scrutinizing gaze, were lost in sensation.

Violet had never felt such a strong urge to take care of someone, to protect them (and that's saying a lot considering she's a super hero). She hadn't ever felt as though she'd needed to shelter someone like this before. The woman leaning against her had awoken something in her, something strong and indefinable, that Violet had a sneaking suspicion might be called love. But that couldn't be, they'd only really known each other for these last few hours. Of course, they _had_ met ten years ago, but they'd had no contact, Violet reasoned, she couldn't be feeling this strongly for someone this quickly. It didn't make any sense. It was nice, to care for Mirage, to hold her, she wasn't denying that, she couldn't because to deny that would be to lie to herself. But these feelings were so strong, unstoppable, and unreasonable. That's the way of love though isn't it, Violet thought, to be unstoppable, sometimes sudden and usually completely unreasonable, it was love after all. And she thought, maybe loving Mirage wouldn't be so bad at all, flirting with her was certainly fun. Still, it was probably too soon to go calling this love, maybe it was just a very strong friendship feeling she was having. Yes, call it a strong friendship for now, best keep things safe.

Mirage hadn't been held like this in a long time, she hadn't let anyone close since she'd made such a huge mistake with Syndrome, she had forgotten how nice it was to just be held. The scent, the warmth, the comfort, the hand rubbing random circles on the small of her back, all of it relaxed her and she had to make a serious effort to pull away. If she wasn't careful she could fall for Violet, hard and fast. And she couldn't do that because…well because this was Violet, she was a super hero for goodness' sake. She would never want to be with a regular person; much less a regular person who had helped to almost destroy her family, not to mention that said regular person happened to be female also. Superheroes could not be gay, it just wasn't done. But still, this was Violet, kind, sweet, shy Violet and Mirage couldn't help how she felt. She didn't know how to stop it, didn't know if she even wanted to, but she definitely wasn't ready to start something they might both regret. She didn't know that Violet was having ideas along the same lines. Afraid of what she was feeling, how strongly she was feeling it, Mirage pulled away from Violet giving her a smile of thanks for the comfort and letting nothing of her true anxiety show in her eyes.

Dash came screeching to a halt in the room and shattering the somber mood by hollering "All right! Food!" sitting abruptly on the floor and helping himself to a dozen pigs in a blanket and four or five small sandwiches.

JackJack was not far behind his brother. Hair still wet but dressed once more he came jogging in and parked himself next to his brother and helped himself to a sandwich with a happy grin.

Borris, sticking to his mission, followed both the boys in. He sensed the mood his mistress was in almost immediately and hopped into her lap. He noticed how close the other girl was sitting to his mistress and decided to take advantage of the situation by stretching out across both their laps in a manner only the very spoiled pets can manage and demanding, with strong flips of his tail, to be adored by both of them.

Helen smiled as she watched both Mirage and Violet reflexively pet the feline occupying their laps. She smiled bigger when she noticed them blush and snatch their hands away every time their fingers accidentally met somewhere in the cat's fur knowing that they were completely smitten even if they weren't admitting it to themselves or each other.

Bob watched his family (Mirage definitely fell under family, he was already thinking of her as a surrogate daughter, he had since she'd told him his family had survived that plane crash) with an absent minded smile, completely oblivious to the attraction Helen could see between the two younger women, and leaned forward to partake of the food spread before him on the coffee table. It seemed to him that life was pretty damn good right now.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A/N: Another chapter down. Well chibicoco, technically they did kiss, though Mirage wasn't at all prepared for it. I'll try to write more this weekend, but don't expect anything to be posted until Sunday night when I'll definitely have internet access. As always, please leave a review, I'm anxious to know what you all think. And remember, if there's something you want to see happen in this story let me know and I'll be happy to fit it in somewhere.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Okay, first off, thanks to DuffJessica for taking the time to beta this chapter. It's the first time I've ever had a beta, so far I'm finding it a new and wonderful experience! Secondly, this chapter may not move much around but my muse wanted me to write it and I am powerless to resist her. I promise this chapter will lead to something. It's all planned in my head, I just have to get it onto paper (or something like that). Anyway, I hope that all you people still reading this enjoy the chapter.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"So," Dash began around a mouthful of corndog, "what are we supposed to call you now?"

Violet could have smacked herself. _She _had never considered that Mirage might want to be called something different. 'Mirage' was the name Syndrome gave her when he recruited her (that had been in the files) but they didn't know who she'd been before, only who she was now. It had never even crossed her mind until now that she might be someone other than the Mirage they had met ten years ago. Of course she wouldn't be Mirage. She had to start life all over again. She is Mia Rahj now, not Mirage. But still, what were they supposed to call her? Did she want to be who she was before Syndrome, did she want to be Mirage, or is she Mia?

Helen must have been thinking along the same lines as Violet for moments after Dash's question she says, "That's right! Your card says Mia. Is that what you'd like us to call you now instead of Mirage?"

Mirage, still sitting beside Violet with Borris stretched languorously across both their laps, replied with a gentle smile and, "Mia will be fine."

"Who were you before?" Violet couldn't stop herself from asking. She'd read all the files collected from Syndrome's lair, he'd only ever referred to her as Mirage (even when he was scouting her out) so they didn't know about her past. She was sure Agent Dicker knew, but he wouldn't tell them if he did. For some reason even she didn't fully understand, she wanted to know everything she could about the blonde.

Mirage, newly christened Mia, didn't fully understand the question. Since she wasn't privy to Violet's thoughts she had to respond with, "Before, before what?"

"Syndrome."

Violet needn't say anything else, Mia was now on the same page and she wasn't particularly happy to be reading the book. "I was someone else, someone very foolish."

"Mia." Violet said it softly, not pleading but still asking for answers. She was sitting close enough that Mia could feel Violet's breath ghost warmly across her cheek. "That's not what I meant."

"Violet, don't antagonize her." Helen wanted to know too, but she knew that pushing too hard too fast wouldn't be good for their relationship with Mia. She knew that some things should wait until they were more comfortable with each other. They had only just reconnected. After all, they couldn't expect Mia to be ready to tell them her whole life story after spending just a few hours with them.

Violet decided to listen to her mother and drop the subject, she hadn't realized it would sound antagonistic, she just wanted to know. She needed to know. But she supposed it could wait for now. Really she just wanted to spend more time with the older woman. Mia would tell her when she was ready, if she was ever ready.

"It's all right Mrs. Parr-" Mia started, but she was cut off.

"No, it isn't." Violet said. Her left hand found its way to Mia's shoulder, "I shouldn't be so nosy. I'm just so glad to see you I couldn't stop myself. I'm sorry."

Mia shook her head and looked down, "It's all right. I probably owe you all an explanation anyway, after all I've done. I just-" Her head kept shaking, "I just—I'm not ready yet. I wasn't expecting to meet you all again so soon. I will tell you, I promise just not yet. Please understand. Not yet."

"Okay." Soothing circles were being rubbed on Mia's back once more, assurance that Violet meant what she said. She wouldn't be pushed. That they trusted her enough to give her time meant the world to Mia.

"Thank you. All of you." Helen gave a nod that spoke for the whole family of their acceptance of Mia's need for time and eased her fears somewhat. "Now, you all know what I've been up to for the last ten years, but I know nothing of what you've been doing. Please, tell me, what have the family Parr been up to?"

Bob laughed. "Actually, I work for one of the homeless shelters you've recently donated to." After his last disastrous job working for that insurance company Agent Dicker had felt it prudent to get Bob a job that allowed him to help people all the time without consequences and still allowed him a free enough schedule for his crime fighting activities, the homeless shelter is what he came up with. Most of the people that came through the shelter were old enough to look after themselves once they were settled in their space, which gave Bob time to take care of the Supering business and gave him the satisfaction of helping people down on their luck. It was a practically perfect solution to a problem Agent Dicker had had with Bob Parr since the Supers had gone into hiding.

"Really, I had no idea? I've never looked at the employee rosters, I only ever manage the money distribution and I can do that from my office. How is it working there?" Mia really was curious. She didn't know the inner workings of every shelter she donated to. Of course she did research all of them before deciding to donate, but she didn't get much opportunity to work in each one before making contributions.

"It's wonderful. Your donation helped a lot. We were able to get a ton of supplies, replace some old equipment, and do the much needed building maintenance that we've been waiting on." Over all Bob was very satisfied with how his shelter had used the generous donation, they'd even managed to save some of that money against a rainy day, so to speak.

"I'm glad." She really was too. She was glad that Bob had found a place to work that could make him beam happily the way he was right now. She was of the opinion that everybody should be so lucky as to have a job that made them happy. "What about you Mrs. Parr?"

"Call me Helen, please." At Mia's nod of acknowledgement she continued, "I was a stay-at-home mom until JackJack was old enough to go to school. Now I work on planes with my old friend Snug. It passes the time and gets me in the air."

"That's excellent. I always thought flying was very nice. Soothing, in a way." Mia smiled. It was true. She always had liked to fly. She was never as peaceful as she was when she was on a flight.

Before she could say anything more Dash broke in with his typical speed, "I'm in college now getting a law degree. It'll take a while but it'll totally be worth it! I'll make the big bucks and all the ladies will be falling all over themselves to date me! It's gonna be awesome!"

"Well," Mia started slowly and continued the same way, "Good for you, Dash." The way she said it made it clear to everyone but Dash that she wasn't so sure it was good at all, but willing to play along anyway. "At least your fast speech should help you. Will you be a prosecuting attorney or a defense attorney?"

"Oh, prosecuting definitely. I'm all about putting the bad guys away!" His chest was puffed out in a way he thought was tough but made him look like a strutting rooster. It didn't help his image that a sandwich was flopping in one if his hands and that he was spraying crumbs from the remains of a corndog.

"I'm sure you'll be very good." A diplomatic reply if ever Violet had heard one. She smiled at how kind Mia was being, though she suspected Mia was also being perfectly honest as well. She probably really did think that Dash would be a good lawyer. And if Violet was honest with herself she'd have to admit that Dash would be an excellent lawyer, he had a passion for law and loved to one-up people, so much the better that the people he wanted to one-up were criminals. "And what about you JackJack?"

"I'm learning the trumpet!" And that was all he said. Granted he said it with a gigantic smile that spoke volumes about how he felt his life was going at the moment. Mia looked over and saw Helen wince a little but she smiled indulgently, too.

"That must be fun. I learned to play the piano when I was little, I enjoyed it very much. I'll bet you like playing the trumpet, too." The only reply Mia got from JackJack was happy enthusiastic nodding, and then he went back to eating, so she turned her attention to the final Parr.

"I know some of what you've been doing Violet."

Violet raised her eyebrow and said, "Oh really? How is that?"

Mia smiled and reached into a drawer in the table next to her. She withdrew a book. It was a hardback. It looked to be around six hundred pages long (based solely on the thickness). Emblazoned on the cover of the book was the title, The Family Fantastic, and the author's name Violet Parr. "From these, you've published quite a few. Six, I believe." And the flirting tone returned as Mia raised an eyebrow to go along with her words.

Violet laughed and nodded. "Yes, six, and more are in the works. That's not a first edition is it?"

"It is. I have all of the first editions. I couldn't resist. This tale seems particularly familiar." In fact the book she was holding was Violet's very first book and it recounted what had actually happened to the Parr family ten years ago when they'd fought Syndrome, of course names had been changed to protect everyone, but the story was there, and the public loved it. The public loved all of her novels. They were best sellers world wide. Each one recounting tales of Supers, some based on reality others were pure fiction.

"Yeah, well." Violet shrugged with a shy smile on her face. "I was told to write what I know, and what I knew at the time was that we had these amazing things happen and no one would ever know. I needed to get it out, tell people without actually telling them, writing a book and calling it fiction seemed like a good idea." Violet was blushing but she was telling the truth.

There was so much of the story that Supers never got to tell, that the public would never know. Violet had been talking to all of the Supers, and writing down their stories, letting the people know what it was really like to be a Super, how they feel, the decisions they have to make every day, the people they fight, the ones they save, the ones they can't save. She published those stories as works of fiction and the people devoured them. She got fan mail everyday telling her that they had never thought of the Supers like that, that they never realized the Supers were people just like them, that they felt so much for all people of the world. Her novels had gone a long way to changing the relationship the general public had to Supers, there was more respect there, more concern, more approval.

Mia read the novels as voraciously as any other fan, only she knew the story from a very personal level and she wished she didn't. She had been on the wrong side, however unwittingly, and it felt terrible to remember that. She knew the struggles the Supers went through and it killed her to know that she had been someone to wrong them.

"I'm talking to all the old Supers…and getting the stories of the ones Syndrome killed. I-I'm writing it all down so there will be a genuine history for the Supers." Violet smiled a little sadly, "But since the real history could never be told I'm turning them into these books. That way the people will know on some level all that we go through for them. What we've all been through—for them. The Supers need to have these stories told, it's mostly for them that I'm doing this at all. They deserve to have their stories told." Violet's fingers flowed absently through Borris' fur as she fell silent.

Mia watched the young woman sitting next to her and realized that whatever toll the past had taken on Mia it had taken a much larger one on Violet. Mia saw that Violet hid it well, but being a Super was wearing her down, she was fragile. Not weak, but breaking, slowly. She cared too much and it was eating her from the inside out. "They do." Violet met Mia's eyes finally and listened, "They do deserve to have their stories told, Violet. It means they won't be carrying the burden alone anymore; they'll be sharing it with the whole world even if the world doesn't know it, and they won't be alone anymore. It's a good thing, what you're doing for them; for all of you. It's a good thing."

Mia reached out and put her hand over Violet's, both still tangled in Borris' fur. Violet held it and smiled. "Thanks." And that seemed to be all that needed to be said, for now at least. Mia wanted to hug Violet, but resisted. She had to consciously restrain her hand from reaching up and running through the younger woman's hair, or stroking her cheek.

"Weeeeeell," Dash drawled, "I think that's about enough emotion for one day, what's say we put this fantastic big screen plasma television to use!" With that he turned it on with the remote he'd discovered underneath a napkin and began high-speed channel surfing.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A/N: I just realized this chapter is shorter than all the others. Sorry about that. Anyway, please leave a review. It helps me know how I'm doing and what I should be doing differently. Thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry this took so long for me to post. School started for me two weeks ago and it's been more work than I'd anticipated. Updates probably aren't going to be very regular but I will be continuing the story, so just check up on it every now and again. Beta-ed by DuffJessica, she has my undying gratitude.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A few days later and Mia was back at work. Though her heart wasn't really in it, she was too busy thinking about that day with the Parrs. They had stayed for dinner, at Mia's request, and it had been wonderful. Mia hadn't felt a part of a family since she had cut off communication with hers after her grandfather's funeral, but with the Parr family everything came so easily. It was a simple thing for her, Helen, and Violet to create a meal together in Mia's kitchen and lay it all out on the dining room table. It was comfortable sitting down to a meal with Helen and Bob at either head of the table, Violet beside her, and the boys across the table. Mia had felt like she actually fit in with the family, even when she knew that she shouldn't (couldn't) allow herself that luxury. Letting them too close was a danger to them, she knew it would be, but it was impossible to resist. That family was just too easy to fall in love with, they laughed and smiled and enjoyed each other, and they included Mia in all of it just as if she'd always been there with them.

That night had left her happier than she'd been in years, and conversely it had left her incredibly sad. Being with them all had reminded her just how much she missed her own family, her brothers and sisters, her parents, she hadn't spoken to them in far too long. She missed the warmth and acceptance of her family, missed the silly little fights they used to have, and the inside jokes, and the shared history and understanding one gets with family. They didn't even know if she was alive, and for that matter she didn't know if they were alive, a depressing thought but one that couldn't be ignored. With super villainy on the rise it was entirely possible that her family had gotten caught up in some scheme, as innocent bystanders too often do, and hadn't come out of it again. She prayed not, but she also knew the truth of the world all too painfully. She had been an innocent bystander once with the Fruitbat, and a not-so-innocent one when she worked for Syndrome. She knew far more clearly than she wanted to, that civilians, _people_, often became collateral damage when the Supers fought the villains. Isn't that what all the fuss had been about all those years ago? People riled at the damage the Supers inadvertently did while saving the world? It was rarely on purpose but people always failed to take into account that Supers are all too human, more human than the average civilian, and were under a lot of pressure. They just didn't have time to think things through all the time. People got hurt. It was a fact of living in a world of Supers and villains.

It was with these thoughts plaguing her mind that Mia went about her morning work her mood swinging from amused to depressed, as memories of the Parrs, her family, and the worlds troubles vied for attention in her consciousness.

Violet was determined to surprise Mia. She hadn't seen the older woman since last Friday and it was now Monday; too long to go wanting in Violet's opinion. So, because she missed the older woman she was on her way to Mia's office in order to surprise her with an invitation to lunch, which would hopefully be accepted. Using the business card she'd gotten as a reference and holding the impressive bouquet she'd purchased for Mia, she searched for the right building.

It was large. Of course it was, it had been built by Mia's business partner the Texan Monty Bustle. And if there's one thing Texans believed in it's 'bigger is better'. For Mr. Bustle this philosophy had worked well, the bigger his firm got the bigger the payouts had been. Adding Mia Rahj to his payroll had been the best move he'd ever made. She had single-handedly expanded his client base to more than three times its original size. His clients were always appreciative of a pretty face and a sultry accent, and when coupled with good business sense and innovative ideas Mia made a combination of qualities that Monty Bustle's clients couldn't resist. When she impressed one client they told all their friends and business associates and Monty Bustle suddenly had more business than he really knew what to do with. The large building had been Bustle's concession to his growing client base. He'd had to hire more people, and had seen the sense of making Mia a named partner instead of a mere employee. And so Bustle & Rahj had been born and quickly became the largest and most successful investment accounting firm in the country, and it was growing in notoriety every day.

Violet was not looking forward to trying to get in to talk to Mia, she was undoubtedly a very busy woman. In a building like this her office would be nearly impossible to find without some kind of map, maybe even a Sherpa. It may be only seven stories tall but Violet had the terrible feeling that clients were made to walk mazes of halls to find anything. Though, she supposed, Mia was a partner and they tended to have easily accessible offices for their convenience (they were protected by various secretaries and a waiting room outside their office doors).

Entering the building she found that it was even larger on the inside than it looked from the outside. There were four different elevators, two on either side of the lobby. There were three secretaries at the reception desk, which was more swamped than it had any right to be. There were dozens of people trying to ask them all questions or find the offices they had appointments in. Violet suddenly felt that she probably wouldn't be able to take Mia away from all this chaos, not with the offices so busy, but she wanted to try anyway. As long as she got to see Mia, even if for just a moment, she'd be happy.

Violet looked at the business card in her hand then at the bouquet of mixed flowers in her other hand and came up with a plan. Shouldering through the crowd to reach the front desk she politely got the attention of a secretary and enacted her plan.

"Excuse me, I was told to deliver these to a Miss Mia Rahj," Violet gestured with the flowers in her hand and gave a polite smile, "can you direct me to her office?"

The woman looked at Violet and shook her head, "Just leave them here, someone will take them up."

"I can't do that. It has to be a personal delivery. Help me out, please?"

The secretary looked Violet up and down, she saw a well groomed young woman with a pleasant if hesitant smile, and reached the conclusion that Violet wasn't one of the crazies they occasionally got in here so it was probably safe to direct the young woman to her destination. She had to speak quietly, not wanting anyone else to overhear, "Alright. Take the left elevators to the top floor. Talk to Allison Hughes, she's Miss Rahj's personal secretary, she'll tell you if Miss Rahj is available for a delivery."

Violet's smile dazzled the secretary. "Thank you so much." Violet nodded her head in additional thanks and made her way to the elevators.

The secretary continued to watch the young woman until the elevator doors closed on her and she wondered who would be sending Miss Rahj flowers that required personal delivery. In the finest tradition of office gossips everywhere she filed this interesting tidbit away, her mind already working on embellishing the tale for retelling. Already she was up to a secret steamy romance Miss Rahj was having with some tall dark mysterious man, maybe even a client! Oh, the possibilities! The scandal! How romantic. While the secretary's subconscious worked on the rumor she was going to start at lunch her body went back to work answering phones and handling the crowd that always swamped the front desk.

Violet made it to the top floor and exited the elevator into a smaller, brighter, more intimate lobby than the one she'd just left. Art on the walls, plants in the corners and on the tables beside the armchairs and on the desk of one Allison Hughes, who happened to be staring directly at Violet with curiosity in her eyes and an honest smile fixed on her face.

Violet approached the desk a little nervously but smiling all the same. Physically the secretary wasn't all that imposing; she looked to be in her mid-thirties, she was shorter than Violet with a riot of curly brown hair pulled into a messy but attractive up-do, perfectly straight white teeth, sparkling brown eyes, and lines on her face that bespoke much laughing. Violet noticed pictures on the woman's desk of five children that could only be the woman's children; they all had their mother's brilliant smile and glittering eyes. This secretary, Allison Hughes, was a woman who enjoyed life thoroughly and exuded an aura of confidence and control and something completely indefinable that comes with being a mother. Violet was simultaneously put at her ease and exceedingly uncomfortable under this woman's amused gaze.

"Um, I have flowers for Miss Rahj. To be hand delivered…um…" Violet didn't know what else she could say, the woman was giving her a look that completely unnerved her, and it was almost like she was being dissected.

"I know you," the woman said with laughter in her voice, making it full, "and _you_ are _no_ delivery girl."

Violet was a little taken aback. "What?" was the only intelligible thing she could force out of her lips.

Allison Hughes smiled disarmingly and chuckled, "You're Violet Parr! You write those books about the Supers. My kids and I love those. So why are you pretending to be a delivery girl?" She propped her elbows on her desk and put her chin in her hands smiling hugely the whole time and watching Violet's reactions.

Violet's mouth had dropped open in shock but then she chuckled ruefully, "They put a picture of me on the back cover of the book didn't they?" At Allison's nod Violet sighed in exasperation. "I asked them not to, but they did anyway. Oh well. Alright, I guess I can't fool you. I was only pretending to be a delivery girl to get past to front desk downstairs, I guess the people down there don't read my books."

Allison laughed appreciatively, "Oh, they read the books. Believe me. Those books are all they can talk about for weeks after each one comes out. They just don't read the author's bio. Now, what are you really doing here?"

Violet smiled, "I really did come to deliver flowers," she shrugged, "Mia's a friend. I wanted to surprise her and take her out to lunch today." Violet blushed a little and bit her lower lip unconsciously as she admitted this out loud, which gave Allison all the clues she needed to put things together.

Allison is a smart woman and she'd seen crushes before, she had five children after all, and Violet Parr most definitely had a crush on Allison's employer. This made Allison glad. To the best of her knowledge Mia hadn't dated even once since they'd met years ago. It would be good for her. Allison didn't have any problem with Mia's suitor being a woman, modern times and all that, she was just glad that someone was finally seeing how great Mia is. Besides, Allison had spent years watching Mia turn down every date she was offered from some very handsome and affluent young men and was beginning to wonder if Mia would ever settle down.

Of course, she hadn't expected this internationally successful author (a female author, no less) to come calling on her employer but she couldn't think of anyone better at the moment. The young woman before her was pretty, and completely endearing in her shyness, she was successful in her own right and so wouldn't be after Mia's money, and she was here making the first move despite how obviously nervous she was. Allison knew what shy looked like, even if the young woman had mostly grown out of it, there was something in the girl's smile, in her eyes, and in her stance that said she's been the shy kid all of her life…then there was something else about her that said she wasn't going to let being shy stop her. Allison, on the whole, approved of this attractive young woman as a potential lover for her too reclusive boss.

"I'm sure she'd like that. She's been taking care of a backlog of paperwork this morning. Last Friday really threw us off schedule." Allison frowned a little in remembered worrying over her boss being taken hostage. "I'm sure she'd love a break," she added to reassure the raven haired girl before her.

Violet smiled in relief and puffed out a breath. "Yes, I heard about that Fruitbat incident," she didn't need to let the woman know that she'd actually been there, "I checked up on her later that afternoon."

"I didn't know that you and Mia were friends. She usually tells me about people she talks to regularly." Allison was probing for information. She might approve of the young woman pursuing Mia, but that didn't mean she could trust her unconditionally…yet.

"Oh. Well…" Violet wasn't entirely certain how to explain the complicated relationship she had with Mia. She couldn't exactly say that Mia had saved her family ten years ago and they'd only just reconnected because her family had saved Mia's life the other day without knowing who she was at the time. She temporized. "It's kind of a new friendship. Actually, it's more like rehashing an old one, but it's basically starting over again." Violet rubbed the back of her neck, hoping fervently this surprisingly formidable woman would let the subject drop.

Just then the door to Mia's office opened and the woman herself stepped out.

Mia was sick of paperwork, and she was sick of being cooped up in her office alone with her thoughts. It was nearly lunchtime anyway, a good enough excuse to take a break. Stepping out of her office with her purse on her arm she got an entirely welcome surprise.

"Violet!" Mia couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face at the sight of the younger woman, all of her attention focused on the young Super. "What are you doing here? Allison, why didn't you tell me she was here?" She tilted her head in inquiry.

"Well, I guess I just got caught up in conversation with Miss Parr. It's not everyday that I get to talk to one of my favorite authors, my kids will be so jealous!" Allison was joined in laughter by both the other women, "Besides she only arrived a few moments ago."

"I see." The blonde turned her attention from her secretary to Violet, "In that case, Violet, will you accompany me to lunch?"

Violet gave a rueful little smile and offered Mia the bouquet, "That's actually what I came to ask you."

"Oh!" Mia smiled hugely and accepted the bundle of flowers, "Sorry to beat you to the punch then."

Violet waved a dismissive hand, "Not a problem."

Mia smiled at the younger woman and bent her head to smell the flowers, "These are lovely."

Violet was watching Mia and admiring her beauty, completely absorbed in the lovely picture she made holding the flowers and smiling gently like that with a pleased blush tinting her cheeks, "I'm glad you like them," Violet said softly.

Allison watched their interaction and knew that Violet's crush was definitely not a one-sided occurrence. She had never seen her boss and friend react to anyone's advances this way. It was refreshing to see her behaving like a young woman in love, flirting and blushing the way she was. She couldn't stop the words from bursting out of her mouth, "Well? Are you going to lunch or are you just going to stand there staring like you're twitterpated?"

Mia and Violet had completely forgotten Allison was there, so wrapped up in each other were they. Naturally, they blushed. Mia cleared her throat and smiled, "Right. Shall we go then, Violet?"

Violet smiled back, "Yeah." She offered her arm and Mia took it, still blushing.

They were gone a moment later as the elevator doors closed on them, heads bent close in conversation. Allison chuckled to herself, pleased that Mia was finally with someone as adorable as she was. Gone were Allison's aspersions as to Violet's character, it was obvious that Mia trusted her, so Allison would too. Allison had learned that Mia didn't trust people easily. She had suspicions that the younger woman had been hurt badly by someone she had trusted unconditionally, so when Mia did trust someone that person was completely worthy of that trust. Anyone that Mia could trust was ok in Allison's book, so from that point on Violet would be a friend.

It didn't hurt that she could pick out truly excellent flowers either, Allison thought as she admired the bouquet Violet had brought (which Mia had left on her desk) for a moment before finding a vase for them.

When the elevator doors opened on the first floor and the two women stepped out only one person took notice. The office gossip, taking a short break from the chaos of the front desk, saw Miss Rahj leave arm in arm with the young brunette who'd brought her flowers, and now had more fuel for her rumor mill. Miss Rahj with a _woman_? Could it be? Is it true? Oh, the girls would have a field day with this one! And a younger woman to boot! Miss Rahj was a cougar! Who'd have guessed it? Life was certainly becoming more interesting by the moment.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A/N: For those who don't know, 'twitterpated' comes from the Disney movie Bambi and is a word representing the condition of being head over heels completely in love. Also 'cougar' as used in one of the last lines does not reference the wild cat, it is a term meaning a woman who looks to younger people for her romantic partners (one example of this is Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Demi being something like twenty years Ashton's senior), in the case of Mia and Violet the age difference is not particularly extreme for this fic (only like seven or eight years). Sherpa = mountain guide (check it on Wikipedia), they are awesome!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: SURPRISE! I'm not dead! I know! I'm kind of shocked myself. Bet you weren't expecting an update, I certainly wasn't! But my muse screamed at me and I had to listen. I hope you aren't too disappointed in me. Also, I must warn you, these two chapters have not seen the attention of a beta, I was too impatient to wait, and so all mistakes are on me.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

There was so much pain.

She couldn't think. Couldn't see, couldn't breathe. Everything was foggy and thick. She tasted iron in her mouth. Yuck. Dirt, too. Why was she so cold? Her whole body shook and twitched and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She could feel a weight pressing down on her back. Her whole body ached. Her teeth chattered. She couldn't move. _Why_ couldn't she move? The weight kept her pinned. She couldn't remember.

Couldn't remember how she got here. Or even where 'here' is. She vaguely remembered sitting at a café with Violet, chatting and laughing, flirting, but nothing about how she came to be in this condition. She wished she could move, then she might be able to relieve some of the pain. She was in agony.

Mia groaned, tasting iron again. The groan led to a wet cough. She realized where the taste was coming from. Blood. Her blood. It was running into her mouth. Probably something to do with the pounding headache she only just discovered she was suffering from. That meant a head wound, which probably meant a concussion or possibly something worse. She hoped not, but one never knew. She hoped the fact that she was having pretty coherent thoughts was a good sign, as she knew that the memory loss was a bad one.

It was after thinking that Mia realized that her eyes were closed. She wasn't sure she wanted to open her eyes, or if she even could, but it gave her something to focus on for a moment. One eye was stuck shut, her own blood acting as glue, but the other was fine and she opened it. For a moment she thought perhaps she hadn't really opened her eye, but after blinking several times it dawned on her that it was just pitch black in here. Wherever 'here' happened to be. She really wished she could remember.

Where was she? How did she get here? And where was Violet?

Suddenly concern for the younger woman was all that occupied Mia's thoughts. Was Violet all right? Had she been trapped like Mia herself was? If not, then where was she? Did she know that Mia was trapped? Was there a new villain she had to fight? Or an old one, risen again? Was she hurt? Or being hurt? Was she fighting? Or was she being rescued? Did she know what had happened? Was she working to fix it? Had she called in her family? Was she lying hurt and bleeding somewhere Mia couldn't help her?

Mia didn't know the answers to any of her questions, and even as they passed through her mind a million others popped up. None of which she could answer. She didn't even know where she was, much less where anyone else might be. She could only hope that Violet was alright. She didn't know what she'd do if the young author was hurt, or even if she had the right to do anything if she was.

It was to thoughts like these that Mia, the woman once known only as Mirage, battered and broken, slipped into the darkness and mental reprieve of unconsciousness.

What Mia didn't know, and wouldn't until she was pulled from the rubble of a once grand building, was that Violet was fine. Furious, but otherwise basically fine. And _she_ remembered everything.

She and Mia had enjoyed a particularly pleasant lunch together at a restaurant that was, coincidentally, a favorite to both of them. Their conversation had never flagged. They had flirted outrageously, much to their amusement and the amusement of the wait staff, each trying to get the other to blush darker with each comment. At least one off-hand comment from Mia had made their server blush right along with Violet, which had made Mia laugh.

Violet could listen to that laugh forever and never, _ever_ tire of it. It was the kind of laugh that hypnotized. The kind of laugh that lightened the heart, that made the sun shine brighter and made people want to sing. It held Violet spellbound whenever she heard it. She'd had to shake herself out of a happy trance more than once after Mia had unleashed that devastating laugh on her.

It wasn't just the laugh though. It was what the laugh did to Mia's entire being. She lit up until she was positively glowing with good nature. It turned her into a goddess among mortals, shining brighter than even the sun above them. Her eyes twinkled mischievously, her cheeks colored slightly, her head tossed back completely overcome with her own mirth in a moment of unguarded, unbridled joy. Even the memory of that laugh, and how Mia looked while laughing, filled Violet with warmth.

But even the warmth of that memory couldn't hold back the fury Violet was feeling right then.

Someone had been foolish enough to interrupt Violet's time with Mia. That Someone had very foolishly dropped a building into the street and onto some truly shocked pedestrians (Violet and Mia among their number) in an attempt to flee the police. That Someone very quickly realized their mistake when they were visited with the wrath of a very angry member of the Incredible family decked out in full uniform and looking like she wanted to visit bloody murder on the very next person she saw. That Someone was a pathetically unfortunate super-villain who called himself Iron Spike.

Normally Violet's powers weren't used offensively, invisibility and force fields generally lent themselves to infiltration and defense, but today Violet was making an exception. See, just because she _didn't_ often use them to attack doesn't mean she _couldn't_ use them to attack. In fact, she had come up with a number of creative ways to use her powers offensively. Her favorite method was to throw her enemy's own projectiles back at them by catching them in her force fields and hurling them straight back, though hitting them with a concentrated wall of her force field worked just as well if not better.

Iron Spike didn't know that little fact about the young female Incredible. He had assumed, as so many do, that she was strictly a defensive measure and so he greatly underestimated her. He certainly didn't count on her rage amplifying her powers. And how could he? No one had ever seen her lose her temper, but not surprisingly it certainly happens when someone drops a building on her girlfriend (or would-be girlfriend, but that's just details). So in his erroneous assumptions about Camouflage's powers, Iron Spike thought he'd just barrage her with his explosive projectile spikes and escape.

Wrong.

Very, _very_ wrong.

Violet didn't even bother to call for back up. She was too furious to think about procedure like that. Iron Spike had just made the biggest mistake of his life by hurting someone Violet cared about.

When he threw his spikes at her, intending to use them as a smoke screen to escape assuming she'd only protect herself with her powers, he got a very rude surprise. The young Super caught each and every spike without detonating any of them in her force field. She them hurled them all right back at Iron Spike while simultaneously closing him and the spikes in another force bubble so he couldn't escape. He was fortunate to be wearing armor; otherwise he surely would have died. As it stood he was immediately knocked unconscious and suffered a broken arm, several broken ribs, and numerous scrapes and bruises.

Seeing her target downed so quickly frustrated Violet, she was still furious but had no outlet. She saw the police pulling up and surrounding Iron Spike, getting him medical attention while relieving him of any weapons and taking him into custody. She turned her attention back to the boardwalk she and Mia had been strolling along intending to check on Mia.

A bolt of pure fear shot through her when she couldn't see her blonde friend. She frantically scanned the crowds with her eyes, but she knew she wouldn't see Mia among the many civilians. Instinctively she knew that Mia was under all that rubble and she cursed Iron Spike for blowing up the side of that building and making it fall. She cursed herself even more fiercely for loosing sight of Mia.

It was ridiculous to blame herself, of course. She had protected Mia with her force field instinctively, pulling her close when the first explosions had sounded. But she'd had to find a secluded place to change into Camouflage, and that required she leave Mia's side. The woman must have gotten buried while Violet had been changing, Iron Spike hadn't ceased tossing his explosives, and she must have gotten caught in one of the blasts. Intellectually Violet knew it wasn't her fault, but she still felt her heart breaking at the thought of Mia getting hurt.

Before she quite realized what she was doing she was using her force fields to shift, lift, and move the debris out of her way. Automatically putting the rubble in a place well away from civilians, carefully lifting any injured out of her way, but always searching for that distinctive blonde hair belonging to her friend Violet worked to free any trapped.

She didn't realize it, but she was frantic. Muttering to herself, praying for Mia's safety, and shaking all the while. Belatedly she realized that she was probably in shock, she'd never had a civilian to worry over like this before and it was tearing her apart at the seams. Still she kept on, moving all the rubble and debris as carefully as she could, making sure the piles didn't shift and crush anything beneath.

There was so much to move. Why was there so much rubble? It was only one stupid building! How can there be this much stuff to move out of the way? God, where is she? Where _is_ she? Is she still alive? Why can't I find her? Where the hell is she?! She was right there, where has she gone? Mia, Mia, MiaMiaMiaMia. Please be okay. Please be okay. Be okay. Okay? She has to be okay. Can't lose her. Just found her. Can't lose her. Still need her. Please, God, let her be all right. Let her be unhurt. Please, please, please.

Violet worked. And worked, and worked. She didn't stop. Didn't tire. Didn't notice when emergency rescue services showed up and started helping her move things. Didn't notice when her father showed up with the rest of her family and helped. Didn't notice anything but how many steel girders she pulled loose, how much stone material she shifted out of the way, how many other civilians she let free, how none of those civilians was the one she was looking for. Didn't notice how fatigued she was growing until her powers gave way, buckling under all the strain, and dropping the large chunk of concrete she'd just removed onto her safe pile with a crash.

Instead of resting she just went forward and dug with her hands. Desperate to find any sign of the woman she was rapidly coming to realize that, whatever she may have resolved a few days ago, she was completely in love with. She couldn't lose her, not yet, not until she told Mia how she felt. It was all too new, too raw, too much. It was love, whatever she may have wanted to believe before. It was love, and love was always supposed to get a chance, to beat all odds. Mia couldn't be taken from her, not yet, not so soon! It wouldn't be fair. Wouldn't be right.

She kept digging. Not hearing anything but the sounds of her own ragged breathing and her thundering pulse. Not feeling anything but the rough concrete in her hands and the sweat dripping from her face. Not seeing anything but shades of gray and brown, but always searching for that shock of platinum blonde that would tell her where Mia was.

Her world reduced to grab, lift, toss, look in a seemingly never ending cycle. Grab, lift, toss, look. Eventually that was pared down to grab, toss, look, grab, toss, look until it all bled together for Violet. Grabtosslook, grabtosslook, grabtosslookgrabtosslook. No time between any of these actions. Perpetually moving. Never stopping. Until finally, _finally_, she found.

There she was.

Mia.

Bleeding, unconscious, but alive and breathing.

From some reserve Violet didn't know she had she concentrated and managed to use the last of her energy to move the rubble just enough for rescue workers to pull Mia out before letting it collapse even as she herself collapsed. Exhaustion, physical and emotional, claimed her at last.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A/N: One down, one to go!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Next up!

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Helen Parr had never seen her daughter like that. She had never seen the young woman so anxious, so worried, and so intense. She knew it was all over Mia. She had known Violet's plans for lunch that day, had known her daughter was going to take Mia out to lunch, and she knew that once again a villain had managed to attack at exactly the wrong time.

Helen had wanted so desperately to make Violet slow down, make her stop and rest, make her quit overtaxing herself using her powers then her body to dig out the rubble of the building. But she knew that she couldn't ask Violet to stop. She knew that her daughter wouldn't have. Violet was searching for the one she loved and nothing was going to stop her, and Helen knew that. Just as she knew that if it had been Bob underneath all that rubble there was no power on earth that would stop her from getting to him.

Seeing how desperate Violet was, how agonized, how restless she was over Mia's safety, Helen knew her daughter had to be in love. It was the only explanation for this frantic activity. And though it seemed to have happened too quickly, Helen knew that love was like that sometimes. Instant. Burning with an intensity unmatched by any power in the universe. And sometimes it was slow, steady, strong, and unbreakable; like hers with Bob.

She suspected her daughter had fallen in love with Mia Rahj the moment she'd realized her true identity as Mirage, though perhaps it had been the moment she'd laid eyes on her ten years ago and 300 yards away. Helen doubted she would ever know. Not that she needed to know when it had happened or how or why. What mattered was that her daughter was in love, and had come painfully close to losing that love before it even had a chance to grow.

Violet had worked for hours, moving debris with her powers and with her body. And this after a fight with Iron Spike, who was notorious for dirty tactics. Helen had watched tears fall unnoticed down her daughter's cheeks as she continued to work herself into exhaustion. She could only imagine what thoughts had been running through the girl's mind; though she suspected they were remarkably similar to the thoughts she herself had whenever she sent her family out to do battle with the evils of the world.

She had wanted so badly to tell her daughter to slow down, to pull her into a hug and tell her it would be all right, assure her that Mia would be fine, and comfort her like she'd been able to do when Violet was still a child afraid of the dark and suffering from nightmares. But she knew that she couldn't do that. She couldn't make Violet stop, not while someone she cared for was trapped and possibly injured. She noticed her daughter's whole body seem to slowly wilt even while she continued to push herself to work harder.

She watched Violet startle when she finally found the one she was looking for, and pull energy from thin air to free her downed friend. Then she watched as her daughter collapsed to the ground, not unconscious just so exhausted that her body had finally given out on her. Luckily they were at the end of the debris and Mia was the last person trapped beneath it all.

Helen immediately went to her daughter's side and lifted the shockingly light girl into her arms. She carried her to the waiting Incredibile after getting the information on what hospital Mia would be sent to, knowing instinctively that Violet would want to be there with Mia as soon as possible. She knew that she would if it were Bob, or any of her children.

Violet's drained smile was enough to ensure Helen that she had been right.

Violet was relieved. Actually, relieved didn't express just how she was feeling at the moment. She doubted that there were enough words in the English language to express how relieved she was. 'Relieved' just didn't seem a strong enough word for how she was feeling right now.

She had found Mia. Alive. She had found Mia and gotten her out from under that wreckage and now Mia was being taken care of by medical professionals.

Violet didn't even consider that Mia wouldn't be all right. She couldn't. Mia had to be all right. There was still so much for Violet to tell her, to do with her, to experience with her. So she had to be all right, because they had a whole life together ahead of them.

Mia was dreaming.

The colors were bright. Nothing made a whole lot of sense.

Borris was talking to her, standing on his hind legs and for some reason wearing a matador costume.

"You have to go back, Mia-girl." Borris told her, speaking in Monty's voice, and waving a bright red cape at her. "You don't belong here."

"It's peaceful here." And that was true. While the trees and grass were riots of colors and patterns, the animals took on strange forms, and the weather wasn't very weather-like at all it still held a strange peace. Everything seemed to have a correct place and fit perfectly into that place, smoothly and seamlessly. The colors may clash, the ground may not be ground at all, nor the sky be sky, it was still a world where everything flowed. There was no danger here, nothing Mia was unsure of, nothing that could or would harm her.

"You don't belong. Not yet, Mia-girl. There's still things you've gotta do."

Though she was sure she wouldn't get a straight answer, she had to ask, "What do you mean?"

"You'll know when you get back." Borris waved his cape some more, its color changing with every swish. "They're all waiting for you." His voice got smaller as he moved farther away. "You're the last piece." With a pop, he was gone cape and all, and all the color drained from the landscape.

She heard his disembodied voice call out a reminder, "Friskas, not Fancy Feast."

Mia could see her reflection in the air, how she didn't know, didn't want to know. She saw a young her, six at most, sitting on her grandfather's knees listening to his fairy tales. Behind them she saw the cat they'd used to own; only she was six feet tall and much bluer than she'd been in life. The cat reached out a paw and swiped at air, dispelling the vision and rocking Mia back.

She looked into the air again and saw the island, Nomanisan, the beautiful waterfall, the insides of the volcano, the waving trees. She dispelled that vision herself, not wanting to remember her time with Syndrome.

When she looked next she saw Violet. Saw her leaping into action against some faceless villain. Saw her poring over a book. Saw her writing in a worn journal. Saw her smiling and laughing and dancing. Saw her shyly holding out a gorgeous bouquet of flowers to Mia's dream-self. Saw her eyes glitter as she leaned in to place a feather light kiss against her lips.

It was so real Mia could almost feel it. She could almost feel the warmth of Violet's lips, the softness of her skin, and the firmness of her hold. Almost, but not quite.

If she ever wanted to feel it for real she had to get out of this place. Peaceful as it may be it didn't have a real Violet. And that's all Mia wanted. So she set off across the dream-scape towards a horizon she wasn't sure she needed to reach, hoping to come out in the real world where she could see and feel the real Violet.

The hospital had called Mia's listed next-of-kin just in case they needed permission for anything and asked her to come down to the hospital, they wanted the people with the power to be within reach should life saving measures need to be employed.

Allison Hughes had arrived at the hospital reflecting on just how bad these last two weeks had been for her boss. She had been worried about Mia when the woman hadn't returned to the office after an hour had passed without calling. Mia usually always called her if she was going to be late so Allison could arrange her appointments and manage her calls. No call meant that either something had gone very wrong, or very right. She had hoped that something had gone right for her boss and friend for once; Violet had seemed a lovely girl and Mia deserved someone like that. But she knew deep down that something had gone wrong.

It seemed that lately the blonde couldn't go outside without being accosted by something, be it super-villain, paparazzi, or falling debris. Allison had never known someone to get so much attention from the cosmos. This was twice in as many weeks that she'd been involved in a super-villain's attack. She was sure that this would garner media attention, it wasn't everyday that a successful businesswoman is accosted by a villain and certainly the first time it had happened to the same person twice in a row. She hoped they'd be able to keep it quiet but she doubted it.

Allison sat in a room waiting to be told news of her friend's condition by a doctor. There was a small television in this waiting room tuned to the news. And on the news was footage of the Incredibles digging through the debris and pulling out survivors. Allison watched with rapt attention as the heroes worked.

At first there was only Camouflage and the rescue workers. She had never seen the woman use her powers and was fascinated that they could be so forceful yet so precise; to yank up massive steel girders while at the same time gently cradling an injured person and floating them to safety must have taken extreme control. The footage skipped some time and showed the rest of the Incredibles working to free the injured and trapped with the crews. She was entranced by all of their great abilities, but her eyes kept being drawn back to the younger Incredible female. There was just something about the way she worked, some edge to her that the others didn't have. That and she seemed oddly familiar, though Allison knew that was ridiculous, she certainly didn't know who Camouflage was.

Allison watched the footage, she saw how even the cameraman was drawn to watching Camouflage. The young heroine seemed to have a frantic energy about her that the others didn't have; Allison could see her lips moving constantly though she could make out no words. Allison watched the young woman tire. She jumped when Camouflage's powers suddenly gave out and she dropped a massive chunk of concrete. She was shocked when the hero didn't pause even a moment, moving in to dig through the wreckage with just her hands. It was then that she noticed the tears rolling down the girl's cheeks. What could have her so upset? Surely she sees stuff like this all the time? She must. She's a hero. It's what they do. So why does this bother her so much?

Allison was absolutely shocked when she saw Camouflage perk up on the film and dive forward into the rubble. She saw the young hero use a combination of her abilities and her body to move some final chunks of debris while rescue workers swarmed to remove whomever the girl had found. She recoiled when the camera found the face of none other than Mia Rahj being pulled from the debris, her progress followed by the anxious eyes of Camouflage even as the young woman collapsed from obvious exhaustion. Allison wondered at the obvious concern the hero showed her boss, she hadn't shown any such worry over any of the other victims.

Before she could ponder this much longer other people joined her in the waiting room. One person she recognized as her favorite author, Violet Parr. The girl looked absolutely wiped out, even more pale than she'd been earlier that day, and covered with dirt. Allison could see a few cuts and scrapes on the girl's face and arms; she could also see that the young woman was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Violet looked up as her family went into the hospital waiting room and her eyes locked with Allison Hughes'. "How is she?" The words were out of Violet's mouth before she'd even fully made it through the door.

Allison looked stunned for a moment before she replied honestly, "I don't know. The doctors haven't told me anything yet."

Violet nodded understanding. She moved towards Allison and collapsed in a chair nearby. She closed her eyes briefly, trying hard not to cry again. She was so tired and so worried and so afraid for Mia, she wanted to be strong but it was getting to be so hard. She was losing what little control she'd managed to gain in the ride over.

"Why weren't you brought in with her?"

Violet's eyes popped open and she focused on the older woman. She thought up a believable lie, "I wasn't injured enough to warrant an ambulance ride. And I wasn't family so they wouldn't let me ride with her anyway. They told me I could follow though."

"Why aren't you injured like she is?" It came out a little more accusatory than Allison had intended, but she didn't retract it.

Violet thought up another believable lie quickly, "I was down the street holding a cab for us. She insisted on paying the bill so I told her I'd get us a cab." It was more of a half-truth, Mia had paid the bill but they'd left together. Violet shook her head and closed her eyes, once again fighting down tears. Wishing, with real regret, that she'd never left Mia's side.

Allison watched the younger woman for a few more moments before noticing the other people in the room. "Who are all of you?" She was genuinely confused. "Were you all there, too?"

It was Helen who answered. "We're Violet's family. She told us what happened and to meet her here. I'm Helen, her mother. This is Bob, my husband. And our sons Dash and JackJack."

Allison shook all their hands, a little overwhelmed. She was sure that she'd seen them all before, somewhere. But politeness forced that thought from her head as she responded to their introduction, "Allison Hughes. I'm Mia's personal secretary. You all know Mia?"

Helen nodded. "She's been a friend of the family for a long time now."

Before Allison could ask any more questions a doctor came in, "Mia Rahj's family?"

They all rose, even the exhausted Violet, and nodded.

The doctor smiled, "She's going to be fine. She has a concussion, a broken leg, and a lot of bruises but she'll heal up just fine. She's lucky the Incredibles got her out without dropping anything else on her. The EMTs told me that one shift in the rubble and the chunk that was on her would have broken her spine."

Violet paled even further at hearing that, going from white to translucent in an instant, thinking that she could have paralyzed or killed Mia. The doctor noticed her immediately, "Miss, I think you should sit down. You look a little feverish. Were you at the scene?"

Violet nodded mutely while the doctor took it upon himself to shine a light in her eyes and test her reflexes. "I think you should have those cuts looked at, a few of them look a little nasty."

Violet waved his concern away for the moment, "Can we go see Mia now?" Her voice was rough from exhaustion, and a little thick with repressed tears.

"Sure, sure. But I'd really rather you sit down and let me clean up those cuts."

"I'll sit when I see Mia. You can fix me up then."

The doctor frowned but nodded. Allison was a little surprised at Violet's behavior, she was being rather insistent, not at all like the submissive young woman she'd met earlier that day.

The doctor led them all towards Mia's room. They followed, Allison in the lead, Violet supported by Dash and her mother, Bob and JackJack following behind. They all breathed a sigh of relief to see Mia resting comfortably on a bed. Beeping monitors ensuring them that Mia was alive if not particularly well.

The doctor sat Violet down immediately and began to work on her.

Allison was watching both Mia and Violet, still struggling with the nagging feeling that she'd seen Violet's family somewhere before.

The Parrs all assured themselves of Mia's resiliency. They also watched the doctor fret over Violet, trying to get her to sit still, or better yet lay down and get some rest.

Violet never took her eyes off of Mia. She never wanted to take her eyes off Mia ever again if she could help it.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A/N: Hoo boy, that was a lot. I hope you enjoyed my updates. Please, review. I want to know what you're all thinking, how I can make this story better, and what you want to see happen.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: *dies of shame* I'm _so_ sorry this took me so long. It shouldn't have, but my life has been full of suck lately and I've been stuck in more stories than just this one. But after being hit by a breadstick, beleaguered by demands, and told sleep was being forsaken to read this, I managed to churn out another chapter. It's un-betad, but I've been over it several times and I admit there are probably still a whole bunch of errors so tell me about them and I'll fix them (that applies for the preceding chapters that you'll undoubtedly have to read in order to refresh your memory).

Disclaimer: All I own is my guilt for taking such a horribly long time to write this up.

Now, here's hoping all of your patience (and impatience) was worth it. On to the story!

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Sitting in that hospital room, her boss and friend unconscious in the stark white bed, Allison Hughes had one of the most surreal moments in her life, a moment second only to the first time she was told that she was carrying another life inside of her.

It was late. There was only one lamp on in the room. She was sitting to one side of Mia's bed, the Parr family stood in various positions on the other side. Violet was sitting and holding Mia's hand, her thumb slowly and gently moving back and forth across scraped knuckles.

Mrs. Parr bent over and whispered to her daughter, "We should go sweetheart. You need to rest."

Violet shook her head then looked up at her mother. "I'm not leaving," she said quietly and firmly, "But you should go. You've all got things to do tomorrow. Work and school."

Allison had watched and seen the moment Violet's eyes had been cast in shadows, moving out of the lamp light leaving her nose, mouth, and jaw illuminated but darkening the top half of her face. It was looking at this, this face half covered in umbra that Allison knew exactly who it was she was looking at.

That nagging feeling of recognition she'd been having since seeing the newscast hours ago, the one that had returned more strongly when the Parrs had walked into the hospital waiting room, finally fell into place. She knew with absolute certainty that Violet Parr, world renowned author, her personal favorite author, was also one of the most recognizable Supers on the planet; Camouflage, a part of the Incredible family. Which makes the four other Parrs the remaining Incredible members.

All of this filtered through Allison's brain in a fraction of a second, and she gasped to herself when the information finally registered in her consciousness. She reeled for a long moment, trying to get her thoughts in line with each other.

She looked at each member of the Parr family wondering at how this hadn't been seen before. It seemed like something that should be so obvious. How many other people were as large as Mr. Parr, or moved and talked as quickly as Dash? None that Allison could think of. Though, she supposed, you'd have to see all of them together like _this_ before any bells started to ring. Allison was sure that she wouldn't have figured it out if she hadn't seen the newscast before meeting the family.

The only thing she could do was stare, flabbergasted. Here she was, a mere secretary, in a room with five of the greatest super heroes in the world and nobody would ever know it except for her!…and the Parrs, of course, but they still think she doesn't know about their Super identities. It was amazing! Thrilling! _Unbelievable_! She was living it and still didn't believe this could be possible. Heroes weren't supposed to know the people you know. Heroes were supposed to be distant and glorious, not near and bedraggled as the Parrs were.

She was broken from her reverie when Mrs. Parr spoke again. "Alright, sweetheart." She kissed Violet's temple. "We'll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep." Mrs. Parr straightened up and turned towards Allison, "Ms. Hughes, it was nice meeting you. I just wish it had been under different circumstances."

Allison gave a distracted smile and responded, "Likewise." She watched Mrs. Parr and the boys file out of the room. Mr. Parr lagged behind and patted Violet's shoulder, offering what comfort and support her could, before nodding to Allison and following the majority of his family.

The room fell silent.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Violet was thinking.

She knew that Mia would be all right, the doctor had said so, but that didn't stop her worrying. And it wasn't just about Mia that she worried anyway.

It was unusual for villain attacks to come so often. Yes, it was normal to see several villain attacks in a year, in a few months even. But never had they been within a week of each other and never in the same city. They normally had two to three weeks between battles; those fights happening in other cities were typically handled by the local Supers, except when the rogue attacking was a different Super's arch foe. So why would Iron Spike attack so quickly after the Fruitbat had threatened Metroville? It was just strange that these criminals would attack immediately after each other.

Violet wasn't sure what was going on, but she had the unsettling feeling that it was big, and that was not good.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Allison couldn't take the silence anymore. She'd been sitting here thinking not only is her boss and friend in a relationship (_finally_), but it's with a woman (a little surprising), _and_ that woman is one of the world's most famous Supers (a _lot_ surprising). And now that she's thinking about it, this could be dangerous for Mia if a villain ever found out Violet's secret identity. How dare Violet put Mia in harm's path? She's got enough trouble without worrying about super-villains, and if she doesn't know about Violet's double life she wouldn't even know to be wary of trouble! Finally she asked, "Does she know?"

Confused and still off balance from exhaustion and worry Violet could only reply, "Huh?"

"Mia," Allison said a little forcefully, "Does she know that you're Camouflage?"

Violet was struck dumb. Her secret identity was obviously no secret anymore, and if she was revealed it was no big step to revealing her family. But how had Allison found out, and what would she do with the information? Violet found herself wary, and she didn't want to be. She decided the safest course was to play dumb, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Allison frowned. She knew she was right, and she suspected Violet knew she wasn't going to buy that act, but perhaps sensing some of Violet's distress instead of attacking she said, "Don't worry. I'm not going to tell anyone. I wouldn't do that to Mia, or to you and your family. I just want to know if Mia knows what she's gotten herself into."

She considered lying for the barest of moments, considered denying that she was a Super at all, but Allison was smarter than that and a friend of Mia's besides. If she'd figured this out and her first concern was for Mia's safety, then Violet doubted she'd sell the information to the highest bidder. She decided to gamble and trust Allison with a secret she'd been keeping all of her life. "She does," and with those words Violet admitted that Allison was right, that she was a Super.

"Really?" Allison wasn't sure whether to be impressed that her friend was dating a super hero, or furious that she'd put herself in this kind of danger without telling her. Though she supposed it didn't matter since Mia seemed perfectly capable of getting herself into trouble with villains without help from a Super relationship. She was also a little stunned that Violet had given the game up so quickly, figuring she would have had to pull teeth and threaten torture before finding out what she needed to know.

Violet nodded, "She's known for ten years."

That was a shock, "Really!? How did she find out?" Insatiable curiosity could be a blessing and a curse.

Violet bit her lip, too tired to think of a lie and unsure whether she should tell at all, she settled for saying "You'll have to ask her that. It's not really my story to tell."

Disappointed, Allison accepted that she wouldn't be getting the answers she craved just yet. She looked at Violet critically, noting the dirt smudged on her cheeks, the scratches visible on face, neck and arms, and the purple bags forming beneath bright blue eyes and suddenly remembered that Violet was a Super, that she had fought and won a battle which involved explosives, and that she had spent hours digging through debris and rubble to find Mia collapsed at the bottom. Violet had had a very busy day, and she looked completely worn out. She suddenly felt very foolish for pressing this tired young woman when she was clearly so weary. As a mother she railed at herself for being so thoughtless; if any of her kids had ever looked so terrible she'd have cleaned them up and sent them to bed immediately, not drilled them for information. "You should rest."

Violet eyeballed her for a moment then nodded. "I should, but I don't think I can." At Allison's questioning look Violet gestured with her free hand to Mia, her other still occupied with holding Mia's, and with exhaustion loosening her tongue and dropping her mental shields she said, "I'm afraid that if I close my eyes she'll disappear." She felt her eyes unexpectedly fill with tears, and knew she must truly be at the end of her rope to let her barriers fall so far so fast. She remembered the last time she had cried helpless tears like this had been when she was five and had gotten lost in the mall and was too afraid to talk to strangers and ask for help; she'd been lucky then that two kind little old ladies had found her cowering in the center of a round jeans rack and had taken her to the help desk, staying with her until her parents came pushing baby Dash in his stroller to collect her.

Allison felt for Violet. She knew exactly how awful it is to have a loved one in the hospital and to be afraid to the point of insomnia for them, believing that if you leave their side they won't be there to return to or that if you aren't there to hold them together they'll fall to pieces and disappear forever. She'd felt exactly the same way when her youngest daughter had been hospitalized with an illness that left her burning with fever, gasping for air, and thrashing uncontrollably at just four years old…the little girl was still weak sometimes and fatigued more quickly than her siblings, though it had been nearly three years since she'd recovered. She smiled reassuringly at the younger woman and said, "I'll make sure she doesn't. You just put your head down and get some sleep. I'll wake you if anything changes."

Violet decided to listen to Allison, she knew she'd overtaxed herself already and staying up any longer would only serve to weaken her further, so she made herself as comfortable as she could leaning against the side of Mia's bed and holding her hand. She closed her eyes and heard Allison get up and walk around to her side of the bed, then she felt a blanket cover her shoulders. She discovered that she was lucky now too, to be able to have Allison looking out for her and Mia both. She smiled, mumbled her thanks, and drifted off into the dreamless sleep of the truly spent.

Allison smiled down at the sleeping woman, both of them, and caught herself thinking they looked as angelic as her daughters did in sleep. She knew now, without a doubt, that Violet cared enormously for Mia and that she could trust Violet to take care of her sometimes workaholic boss. She returned to her chair and settled in for a long night. She'd just have to trust that her husband could manage their children while she was away.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It was dark.

Her once vibrant dream had been sapped of all color the moment Boris' voice had faded. The landscape had transformed into a dark horror-scape complete with gnarled grasping trees, biting winds, and the inexplicable feeling that she was being chased. She was cold, which was silly because all of this was in her mind and she knew it couldn't possibly be happening and yet, and _yet_, it felt—real.

She moved through this bleak landscape hoping to come to somewhere familiar, to crest the horizon, or to just wake up. She knew instinctively that she couldn't stay still, that if she remained in one place whatever was following her would catch up. She walked fast. She didn't know what it was she sensed at her back (which was always at her back no matter which way or how quickly she may turn) beyond that it was a moving shadow, but she knew that she most certainly didn't want it to get a hold of her. She started to jog. This knowledge came from a primal place within her, one that fills her with fright at the thought of allowing that phantom shape to grasp her; she felt its ominous presence skirting ever closer weighing down the air around her. She ran.

Faster and faster she ran, her surroundings blurring into a mass of grey blobs. Even the stinging branches of the twisted trees whipping and scratching did nothing to slow her down; her growing dread far greater than the sharp pains lancing her arms, legs, and face. Leaves crunched as she dashed over them. The wind whistled in her ears…it shrieked in the wake of the apparition.

She risked a glance over her shoulder, and immediately wished she hadn't as her foot caught on a root and she went crashing into the ground. She flipped onto her back, panting heavily, and was met with a black mass that seemed larger than life bending over her. Towards the top of that mass, in what could loosely be termed the 'head', was a grin, sparkling, wide, and terrifying. Mad laughter filled the air, morphing into shrill howls the longer it mingled with the wind. Massive hands clawed at her. She screamed.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Mia woke with a gasp from disturbing dreams she couldn't fully remember, clenching her hands reflexively.

Violet came awake when her hand was subjected to a sudden pressure, almost painful in its strength. She looked up quickly and saw Mia's eyes open wide. "You're awake!" relief made her limbs briefly turn to goo. She looked at Mia closely, noting clear signs of fear in her wide eyes and soft panting. "What's wrong?"

Sudden voices brought Allison into wakefulness and she immediately focused on her obviously distraught boss and the young woman attempting to calm her.

Mia's eyes darted to Violet, not recognizing her at first. She blinked dumbly for a moment before she placed Violet in her memory. She looked over and saw another woman—Allison, her mind supplied—looking on with concerned interest. She got lost in her head for a moment.

Violet called her back, "Mia? Honey, what's wrong?"

Mia turned her gaze back to Violet and said, "Violet," she couldn't stop the smile that tugged at her lips just saying her name, "…nothing. It was a bad dream. I barely remember it." But what she could remember—a shadow-man with a gleaming smile looming menacingly above her—she wished she could forget.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A/N: Please review. It may take me forever to write new chapters but your reviews always inspire me, so send me inspiration! I'm going to have only sporadic internet for the next few weeks, so try not to expect immediate replies. I will, will, _will_ be working on future chapters for this story, because (shock of shocks) I _do_ have a plot in mind (yes, I hear your gasps of surprise, and I assure you it's true).


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: SURPRISE! Yes, people, it's a new chapter finally up. Yay me! Written in a marathon late night, three hour session just because I wanted desperately to update this story because I felt I couldn't in good conscience write any of the other stories I have rattling around my brain without adding to this one first. So, I did. I hope you all like this chapter, it took on a life of its own, happening faster than I was really ready for, but apparently it was ready, so here you have it.

EDIT: I got rid of the unnecessary stuff at the bottom, so it's shorter, but better. Sorry for making you slog through it before, but I was too tired to be thinking straight.

EDIT2: I put another paragraph in, to make it make sense to me and hopefully to you. You'll have to tell me if I've just botched the whole thing and need to fix it.

Disclaimer: I still don't own the Incredibles. If I did there would already be a femslashy sequel in the works!

*****'*****

Shaking off the feelings the nightmare had inspired in her, Mia looked between Violet and Allison. "Why do I feel like I was hit by a truck?"

Violet and Allison shared a concerned look before Allison asked, "What do you remember, Mia?"

Her brow furrowed in concentration Mia spoke haltingly, "I remember…driving in to work this morning and going to lunch with you, Violet. But nothing after that. What happened?" She was worried about her memory loss, knowing it was common after suffering a head injury but still feeling like she should remember. She could sense some memory, one of darkness and pain, but couldn't think of the details, couldn't think of why she'd have felt that way, but knowing it had something to do with her current surroundings.

A silent conversation happened between the other two women, a decision was reached, and Violet took a deep breath before answering. "When we got out of the restaurant Iron Spike was attacking the building next door. Some research facility. We split up so I could fight him," Mia shot Violet a shocked glance looking between her young friend and her secretary, Violet smiled wearily, "Don't worry. Allison knows. She put it all together after watching the news feed tonight."

All Mia could think to answer with was, "Oh." Her mind wandered for several moments, wondering what her secretary must have thought upon discovering the truth. She stayed thinking until Violet squeezed her hand gently, recalling her attention.

"I had to find a secluded place to change. When I confronted him he'd already dropped the building on you and dozens of other people. I put him out of commission pretty quickly and started digging in the rubble. You were the last person we pulled out. The EMTs told the doctors that one wrong shift in the rubble and you could have been paralyzed or-," Violet gulped hard, forcing down the lump in her throat, "-or killed. I'm so sorry I left you on the street. I should have protected you. I should have-"

Before Violet could get too far into self-recriminations Mia squeezed her hand, hard. "Stop that. You're a Super. Your obligation as a Super extends farther than just one person, much farther, no matter how much you may care for that person. I understand that. And anyway, I'm not that badly hurt…" Actually, Mia didn't know if that was true or not so she looked to Allison, "Right? I'm not badly hurt? I don't feel badly hurt-"

Allison almost laughed but decided to just answer her boss, "The doctor says you'll be fine. You've a broken leg and a concussion. It's an extremely good sign that you've regained consciousness so quickly. The doctor will be happy to hear that. Speaking of the doctor, I should go tell him you're awake. He'll want to check you out." That was Allison's way of giving the two some time to themselves, knowing the young couple would need a few moments to reassure each other privately. She glanced back briefly to see Violet leaning over Mia to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

***'***

Violet pulled back and stared down at Mia, feeling tears she'd thought dry spring once again to her eyes. She'd almost lost this woman today. She'd almost lost her without having told her how much she had come to care for her in such a brief amount of time. She would not chance that again. Violet was resolved. She would tell Mia exactly how she felt as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

"You look exhausted." Mia's gentle voice broke the silence gently, her free hand rose to lightly stroke Violet's cheek, and recalled Violet's mind to her surroundings. "You're injured, too."

"They're just scratches, nothing to be too worried about. The doctor already disinfected them and everything." Violet smiled at Mia, though it was a smile that betrayed all of her exhaustion, both mental and physical.

Mia looked hard at her young friend, girlfriend she wanted to call her but wasn't sure if she could…yet. Deciding not to think on that just now her mind swiftly changed gears. "So, Allison knows you're a Super. How did you explain it to her?"

Violet sighed and reclaimed her seat, though she still held to Mia's hand. "I didn't really. She put together who I was from the newscast and then seeing all my family here. She told me she wouldn't tell. She was actually more concerned about whether or not _you_ knew who I really am."

"And what did you tell her?" Mia's voice was softer, her ordeal obviously having drained her, but she wouldn't rest without having her answers.

"I told her you knew. That you'd known for ten years."

Mia was startled and her grip tightened sharply. She quickly asked, "How did you explain _that_ to her?" She wasn't quite ready for Allison to know that she'd once been sidekick to one of the most despicable villains in recent history, which was how she'd met the Incredibles in the first place; she didn't want to lose one of the only friends she had in the world because of the mistakes of her past.

Violet replied in a soothing voice, "Relax. I didn't tell her how you found out. It wasn't my place to tell her that story." She felt Mia's grip loosen only to tighten again when she continued speaking. "I told her you'd have to tell her yourself. She didn't push. She cares a great deal for you, you know. Almost as if you were family to her. I don't think she'll push you for answers either. She was just being protective of you, wondering if I'd gotten you into heaps of trouble without you knowing."

Mia let her head drop back onto the pillow with a sigh. Her eyes closed for a brief moment thinking of how unpleasant that future conversation would be. It was hard enough having the Parrs know she was once in league with Syndrome, though she hadn't known all of the horrendous things he'd been doing at the time. But the idea of having to tell the only friend she'd had in the world for the last ten years or perhaps longer filled her with terror and a creeping sense of grief for she was positive that once Allison knew she'd been a villain she would no longer have any friends at all. But the Parrs had forgiven her, had searched for her to help her, and that gave her a very small amount of hope that perhaps Allison wouldn't abandon her when she learned the truth.

"I almost lost you today." Violet husked into the quiet that had descended upon them. "You could have died and it would've been my fault."

"_No_," Mia said fiercely, her eyes burned into Violet's as she continued in a commanding voice, "Don't you _ever_ think that. It is _not_ your fault that villains keep attacking this city, or that they keep threatening the world. Don't you _dare_ blame yourself for what's happened. I won't hear it."

"But you could've _died_-" Violet tried again to take the blame, but she was cut off.

"I could have died driving myself to work. I could have died falling down my stairs at home. I could have died choking on a chicken bone. Violet, bad things happen all the time, and you can't blame yourself for every little danger in the world. It will tear you apart if you let it, and then _I'll_ have lost _you_. I can't afford to lose you Violet. It would break me."

A solitary tear dropped from Mia's right eye and she stared at Violet, thinking perhaps it was too early to say this but knowing it needed to be said now regardless. "Losing you to your guilt would kill me as surely as any villain could, Violet. I don't know how it happened so fast, how you came to mean so much to me in so little time, but I'm sure of it. I love you. And I won't—I _can't_ let you hurt yourself this way. You cannot take responsibility for each and every bad thing that happens because of villains, love. It doesn't make sense."

Violet sat speechless, eyes wide and mouth open. Never had she thought that Mia would say those words first, or so soon. She sat stunned for several long moments before shaking herself back into reality and looking with wonder upon the injured woman in the bed. "You love me?" was the first thing she thought to say, an awed smile transforming her weary features into a gloriously beautiful sight, "really?"

Steadying herself with a breath, Mia nodded and hoped that Violet would say the words her soul longed to hear.

Violet stood once more and leaned over Mia so their eyes locked together, her face mere inches away and smiling joyfully; she leaned a little closer and whispered, "I love you, too. And I don't care how it happened so fast, only that it has." Then she closed the remaining gap between them to place the softest sweetest kiss she'd ever bestowed on anyone to Mia's waiting lips.

Mia hadn't expected it to feel this way. For one kiss to make all her world, her entire life, abruptly click into place. Like she had been disjointed in spirit, and suddenly she was whole. She hadn't expected it, and yet, in a way, she had. She could feel that her soul had been waiting for this moment since she'd been born, that she had been waiting for this love without knowing it and now it was here and it was branding her, claiming her, marking her as Violet's with just this simple, gentle kiss and filling her with fire, with passion. It just felt so right that Mia wondered how she could have ever loved, or even thought she loved, anybody else. Now that she knew what this felt like, nothing would ever measure up, no one but Violet would ever be enough for her ever again. And she didn't mind that in the least.

When Violet pulled back she was smiling again. Her eyes shining with all she was feeling, so full that Mia couldn't even name all the things she saw in her love's eyes but she knew her own eyes were answering Violet's with all the same things because her smile just kept growing and she swept down to steal another kiss.

***'***

Just then Allison walked through the door and squawked a startled, "Oh!" and blushing an absolutely brilliant shade of red.

The doctor behind her chuckled as he, too, went a little pink in the cheeks. "Excuse me, ladies. Didn't mean to interrupt." He moved forward when Violet reluctantly pulled away and smiled blissfully at everyone before moving off to the side to give the doctor room to work.

"Now Miss Rahj," the doctor began, "I'm Dr. Lester. Do you know where you are?" He began a series of questions as he conducted tests on Mia's reflexes and made sure her concussion hadn't gotten any worse. When he was satisfied that she was really going to be fine he said "I'd like to keep you overnight for observation to make sure your concussion won't get any worse. But after that we should be able to release you. You're going to need to stay off that leg for at least six weeks, so someone will need to be with you to take care of you."

Violet and Allison volunteered their services in tandem, making both Mia and Dr. Lester laugh. Dr. Lester just continued with his instructions to Mia, ignoring Violet and Allison heatedly debating who would take care of Mia.

Violet eventually won the argument when she said that Allison not only had five kids and a husband to worry about, but that since Mia wouldn't be able to come in to work for a while that Allison would have to rearrange meetings and send whatever work she could to Mia over the computer and she couldn't very well do that from Mia's home could she? No, she couldn't. Violet, however, being an author could work from her laptop and she'd only recently turned in her newest manuscript so her editor wasn't expecting anything from her for a while so she could easily handle all her responsibilities from Mia's home. Allison gracefully conceded defeat on the condition that Violet go home tonight and get some real rest before coming back the next day to take Mia home. Upon receiving Violet's reluctant agreement they waited for Lester to finish his instructions and take his leave, then informed Mia of their decision.

Mia had a hard time not laughing at them both as she said, "That sounds reasonable." She turned serious when she looked to Violet and said "You do need to rest. You've been through more than I have today and it's obviously taken its toll on you. I don't want to see you back here until after lunch at the earliest, you understand?"

Violet rolled her eyes but acquiesced with a smile, "Sure. I'll bring you some clothes and lunch when I come. I'll check on Borris tonight so he doesn't worry."

Mia smiled at Violet's thoughtfulness, "Actually, could you stay there with him. He doesn't like being alone for all that he's a cat."

"Of course."

"And sleep in one of the guest rooms, not on the couch. Oh, and make sure Borris gets his can of wet food tonight, they're in the bottom left cupboard with his extra food dishes."

"I'll make sure he gets fed." Violet smiled in amusement at Mia's list of instructions. There were more that followed, on a wide range of things, but mostly it was Mia giving Violet the run of the house for the night not knowing that all Violet was planning to do was feed Borris, shower, and go to bed. Still she listened with a bemused expression and when Mia finished her list Violet grinned rakishly and said with much humor "Yes, dear."

Mia's mouth dropped open in surprise while Allison laughed at the both of them and said "Oh lord! You're already an old married couple! This is adorable. Mia, I think you found a winner."

Smiling hugely Mia only said "Yes, I have."

Violet smiled back. She went over to Mia and leaned down to whisper goodnight and kiss Mia's cheek. Then she left.

***'***

Allison watched her boss watch Violet leave. "This really is something special isn't it? You really care for her?"

Mia turned her attention to Allison, "I really do, Allison. I'm in love with her. And she feels the same."

"You're sure?"

"I am."

"Good. I'm glad for you, Mia. You deserve someone who can make you happy. And from what I've seen, Violet certainly does that for you."

Shyly smiling Mia said "Yes, she does. Happier than I've ever been I think. I had no idea I could feel like this. I never thought I'd find love again."

That caught Allison's attention, "Again? Who were you with before?" Mia had never spoken with Allison about her past, and certainly not about any past relationships and Allison found herself nearly consumed with curiosity.

Mia decided then and there that she wasn't going to hide her past from Allison anymore. If she were truly going to be happy, she couldn't keep this huge part of herself from her best friend. Biting the bullet she began, "Violet told you I had a story for you, about how I found out about who she really is. This is part of that."

"Are you sure you're ready to tell me?" She remembered Violet's hesitance in speaking about Mia's past, and she didn't want to push Mia too far too fast. Especially not when she was so vulnerable lying there injured and emotionally raw.

"Even if I'm not, I'm going to. But before I do, you must promise me that you will listen to the whole story, no interruptions. You must also keep in mind that whatever I might have been in the past, I am not the same person I was, and I will never be that person again. I don't want to be that person again."

Allison thought about all the things that could be in Mia's past to make her demand a promise like that from her. It worried her that Mia thought it necessary to disclaim her past self, and to put that idea in Allison's head before even beginning the story, but all the same she wanted to hear what Mia had to say. "I promise."

So Mia told her everything. About her grandfather helping to raise her and dying while she was away, to Buddy promising her love, to being an unwitting pawn in his murders of the old Supers, to being betrayed by Syndrome so he could get his vengeance on Mr. Incredible, to betraying Syndrome and helping the Incredibles, and on to her escape from the island and creating a new identity for herself. She left nothing out. Didn't edit the story to make herself look better. She told it all from her perspective and in the order she knew it happened, only pausing to breathe and compose herself before plunging back into the narrative. From the beginning to the present, it all came out in one cathartic release, leaving Mia emotionally exhausted but feeling better than she had since her grandfather had died.

Allison was stunned. "That's quite the story, Mia…I'm not sure what to think right now."

Mia nodded sadly, "I have told you much that would make you hate me. I'd understand if you never wanted to speak with me again, Monty could get you a different job. You'd never have to see me again."

"Stop that, Mia." As a mother, Allison had honed admonishment down to an art form and she wasn't afraid to use it, even on her boss. "I may not know what exactly to think of all of this, but I know that I don't hate you. You're just…not the person I thought you were. I need a little time to reconcile your story with who you are today. Because clearly, like you said, you aren't the same person you were ten years ago when all that happened. You're still my friend, no matter what happened in your past."

Mia looked at Allison with hope and tears shining in her eyes, "Really?"

"Of course." Allison reached out to hold Mia's hand, gripping as tightly as Mia did. "I can't say that I understand what you've been through, but I do know that you didn't hurt anybody on purpose. And that counts for a lot. Besides, I think if the Incredibles can forgive you and let you date their daughter, that I really have no reason not to since none of that happened to me, you know?"

Relief flooded Mia and she sobbed, finally free of the burden she'd been carrying all these years. She could finally look forward to her future, with a woman she loved, and a friend she trusted absolutely.

*****'*****

A/N: There you have it. Leave a review! Let me know what you think of this chapter. Does it fit in with the rest of the story? Did the Violet/Mia bits leave you warm and fuzzy? Is Allison awesome or what? Did I really need to write out that whole explanation for Allison when all of you readers already know the story? (The answer to this is no, no I didn't. I have taken it out and replaced two pages with one paragraph. I think it works better. Thanks for pointing that out Stellar Raven).Well? Tell me.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** This is me just barely sneaking this in under the wire. It has been nearly ONE YEAR since I last added a chapter to this story and I'm terribly disappointed with myself (not with this chapter, it's awesome, but with my woeful update speed for this story). I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own the Incredibles, just the idea for this story.

*****'*****

Violet woke up with twenty pounds of purring feline on her chest, sunlight streaming through the blinds, and a raging headache.

Her powers, unlike the powers of her family members, required intense mental concentration. Her force fields were created and maintained using only her mind; she had to decide on their purpose, their strength, their flexibility, their solidity and more, all of which required extreme mental effort. It had taken many years of painstaking training to make the shields an automatic response on the same instinctive level as her invisibility, so while they took less effort to call forth they still were a great strain to maintain and control for any extended periods of time. It was why she would briefly lose consciousness when her shields were broken; the shattering of her physically manifested mental energy would short-circuit her mind, leaving her unconscious and vulnerable. The upside of the force fields was their versatility and practical application, the downside was the rigorous training and mental strain. She'd overextended the use of her powers yesterday, pushed herself well beyond her limit, and reached into reserves previously unknown. The result of her hard work, the same result she'd always get when she pushed her powers too far, was this splitting headache. A small price to pay, she thought, for no fatalities and few civilian wounded.

Her eyes focused on the sleeping cat, heavy and warm on her body, and she smiled. Borris had been nearly frantic when she'd walked through the front door of Mia's mansion home. He'd mewled in that peculiarly high pitched voice and in a plaintive tone until she'd picked him up and assured him his mistress was all right. She'd had to explain exactly what had happened to Mia, where she was and when she'd be home before Borris had settled and allowed her to lay out his night time meal.

Violet wondered, not for the first time, where on earth Borris had come from. She knew he was a foundling, and that Mia had no idea of his origin, but that didn't stop her curiosity. Borris didn't behave like a regular cat. He always seemed like he knew exactly what was going on, like he could understand human speech as easily as Violet herself did. It was a bit odd, but not unpleasant. Violet had come across many scientifically altered creatures in her time as a Super, usually the poor things were just attack beasts or cruel experiments and exuded the kind of malicious energy their creators so often displayed, but she felt no such unpleasantness from Borris. She knew he'd been changed in some way, his intelligence was a dead giveaway of that, but who had changed him and for what purpose? No matter, he was here now, enjoying a life of peace and comfort with perhaps the kindest most beautiful woman in the world. He protected his mistress, whom he obviously adored, and his home as fiercely as any lion and Violet couldn't imagine why anyone would have tossed him away. Truly, it was their loss.

Still, she was finding it a bit difficult to breathe with his weight crushing her sternum, so she groaned and pushed him off of her. Borris, for his part, rolled freely off her chest and moved to take her place on the pillow completely unperturbed by her shifting. She couldn't help ruffling his fur a bit, standing the fur on his head into a little mohawk. He kept right on purring and butted his head further into her palm. She laughed. He was a good cat, altered or no.

Violet looked to the clock on the nightstand to her left. Mia had told her not to come to the hospital until after lunch, meaning she had at least three hours to spend before reuniting with her girlfriend.

Huh. She could think that now. Girlfriend. Mia is her girlfriend. Violet repeated the words in her head, a giddiness filling her chest and widening her smile. Mia is her girlfriend. Who knew that such simple words could bring her such joy? That just thinking of Mia could bring a smile to her lips and glee to her heart? This, Violet thought, this is what it's like to be in love? This is what those stories talk about? What people feel together? How wonderful, how sweet, how absolutely stunning. It was a wonder people in love ever got anything done, she thought, if they feel half of what I'm feeling now...and my relationship being so young. How are more people not struck absolutely dumb by this feeling? It's, she laughed at the mental pun she was making, it's incredible. She could easily get lost in this feeling, she could lay back and let it wash over her and be entranced for an eternity in this glorious emotion. Amazing.

Just as she was about to get really lost in her wonderment Borris traipsed heavily across her lap and leapt from the bed to land with a thump on the floor. He mewled loudly and swept out of the room. He obviously had better things to do today. And if the swishing of his tail was any indication, he knew Violet had better things to do as well.

Violet laughed again, threw the covers off, and sprang out of bed. Her headache was slowly dissipating, the early merriment easing the worst of the pain, but she would still take some aspirin to be rid of the rest.

She had much to do before picking up Mia and there was no sense in dawdling.

***'***

"Look at her Winston," the dark silhouette spoke smoothly, "Is she not beautiful?"

Before the shadow man was a screen displaying video footage of Camouflage from her battle with Iron Spike the day before.

Winston replied, speaking to the figure's back, "She is, Master."

Small, old, bald Winston, who'd been in his lord's service from the moment his lord was born, stood stooped in the room's only doorway. Always he had served his master's family, given to his master as a caretaker and teacher on the day of the young man's birth. Gradually his role had gone from teacher to servant, as it was meant to, and here he stood now twenty seven years later a faithful follower of his master's whims. She was not the first girl his master had taken interest in, nor even the first Super, but she was the first young lady he'd ever gone to the trouble of having Winston fetch video of.

"You see her brutal efficiency, Winston?" his master spoke with great excitement coloring his tone, "One attack and the man was downed! She broke him as easily you would a twig! Very decisive. She did not mess about there."

"Indeed not, Master." Winston intoned.

"And look there," the master said wistfully, his fingers stretching out to caress the figure on the screen, "See how she transforms from righteous warrior to merciful savior? Is she not perfect?"

"Indeed, Master."

"Would she not make a most fitting bride for me, Winston?" The tone was politely questioning, but there was an underpinning that provided the only answer the master wished to hear.

"It is as you say, Master." Winston spoke with no inflection.

"Yes, it is," his master agreed. He continued in a firm, commanding baritone, "Then, Winston, I have made up my mind."

"Master?"

"She will be mine," he said in a lofty manner, as though this was a foregone conclusion. Winston chanced a glance up at his master, catching the man rising from his chair, a hulking form backlit by the screen. He turned his head just far enough for Winston to see the gleam of his teeth, a predator's grin stretching his lips in a face still bathed in shadows, "I will make it so."

"Yes, Master."

***'***

"I've had to move a lot of your meetings," Allison informed her recumbent boss.

Mia huffed, "I don't see why I couldn't have kept those meetings. I can go in to work."

"Not until the doctor says your concussion is cleared up. You know he said to wait a week, at least, before attempting any strenuous mental activity," Allison used her best admonishing mother voice and then slipped seamlessly into professional assistant mode, "And from the clients that were scheduled, you'd be doing an awful lot of mental work. Tell me again why we had all your most trying clients scheduled for the same week?"

"You know why. Get all the stressful people out of the way at once and the rest of the year is smooth sailing," Mia smiled. She loved her work, she really did, but sometimes dealing with the people was more pain than it was worth. Thankfully she only had a few clients that really pushed the limits of her patience, and they only met with her once a year. She preferred to get them out of the way as quickly as possible and make way for more pleasant pursuits, like her charities or a root canal.

Allison merely grunted to express her displeasure with that particular set of people, the matter was closed. "So," she began, "You're dating one of the most famous authors in the world who also happens to be one of the most famous Supers in the world and who will be living with you for the next several weeks while you heal, how does that make you feel?" It was said in a slightly sardonic tone, but it was obvious that Allison was genuinely curious. Despite what she'd heard of Mia's checkered past last night, Mia was still her closest friend and she was determined to be there for her no matter what. It was also of interest that Violet happened to be Allison's personal favorite author and a genuinely sweet person and she'd be loathe to see either of these two women hurt or unhappy. So she would offer her sympathetic ear and hope that if trouble came their way she'd be able to spot and avert it before any damage was done.

"Nervous," was all Mia said.

"About…?" Allison knew Mia had been a bit of a recluse, but had hoped that she'd be a little more forthcoming since the emotional conversation they'd had last night.

"Everything," Mia looked at Allison, her eyes haunted and voice subdued, "I've never been with a younger person before, much less another woman. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never felt like this. About anyone. I don't know what she thinks of me, or what she will think after weeks of taking care of me and seeing me at my weakest. I don't know how I'll be able to handle her Super activities. I already worried about her before we were dating, but now, now I'm sure I'll just turn into an absolute mess! I haven't been in a relationship in ten years, and that wasn't a healthy one, I've no idea what I'm supposed to do. And-"

"Stop!" Allison commanded, "Take a breath."

She watched as Mia took a deep breath, "Now let it out."

The air whistled out from between Mia's lips.

"Okay," Allison said, "Now tell me what you're really worried about."

Mia looked stricken. She blinked and her brow furrowed. She closed her eyes, squeezed them tightly shut. When she opened them there was years of sorrow and uncertainty in her pleading gaze, her voice was soft and scared, "What if I'm not good enough for her?"

***'***

Violet drove her car up to the gates protecting the palatial manse and rolled down the window to meet the vid-screen unobstructed.

"Who's there? Who is it? Who's there?" All Violet saw on the television was the very top of a black crowned head, massively thick glasses, and a pug nose.

"It's Violet Parr, Edna," she announced clearly to the screen.

"Dahling! It's been too long!" The gates swung open before Violet's car, "Come in, come in! Don't make me wait!"

The television abruptly shut off and Violet chuckled. She drove through the gates, seeing them swing shut in her rearview mirror. She followed the wide curving drive right up to the foot of the staircase leading to what many in the fashion world considered a holy temple: the home of Edna Mode, greatest creator of fashion in the last sixty years. Edna had dominated the world of fashion since crashing onto the scene in her youth. She'd designed for models, celebrities, royalty, and Supers. She was the pinnacle of fashion, the height all designers aspired to (despite being so short herself). If one got the nod from Edna Mode their career was made. The eccentric designer lived large and made no apologies. She was a force to be reckoned with, and if one was wise one listened to what she said for she had yet to set a foot wrong. She was an intimidating woman, domineering but kind in an odd way, and she looked favorably upon all Supers.

And yet, she always made Violet nervous. She looked at you as if she knew all your secrets, like there was nothing that escaped her perception. As a teenager Violet had always dreaded coming here for fear of what Edna might see or reveal (though she'd had no secrets, Edna might have found some anyway that even Violet wasn't aware of), but now she knew her teenaged fears were misplaced. Edna loved Supers and the Parr family in particular. She was one average extraordinary human the whole of the Super community could consider a friend, and it was in that capacity that Violet came to her now.

"Come in, dahling!" Edna said as Violet reached the doors at the top of the stairs.

"Hello, Edna," Violet smiled down at the most fearsome little lady in the world as she followed her into a drawing room, "How are you?"

"Fine fine," Edna waved her hand dismissively, "You did not come here to discuss the life of an old woman. You need something, don't you little Violet?" Edna turned a gleeful smile on Violet, always eager to be presented with new challenges, "A new uniform perhaps? Ready to strike out on your own? Sit sit."

"Not quite yet, Edna," Violet said, easing into the offered seat. Edna had been itching to design each of the younger Parrs a Supersuit of their own, a design not in the family theme. She'd been trying, for years, to get even one of them to strike out as a solo hero just for the opportunity to create more Super outfits. Thus far she'd been unsuccessful, but one day it would happen and Edna would be a very happy woman. "I actually came to ask for something for a friend."

"Oh?" Edna ran a searching gaze over Violet's features, "Tell me."

"You saw the news last night? Iron Spike?"

"Mm," Edna confirmed, "I did. You dealt with him quickly. What of it?"

"Before I took him down he dropped a building on a friend of mine. She's got a broken leg." Violet stated, "I was hoping you could design some office clothes for her that would fit over her cast."

"This girl," Edna began, eyes studying Violet keenly, "She is more to you than a friend, yes?"

At Violet's startled look Edna laughed boisterously, "Don't think you can fool Edna Mode, girl. You've never asked favors like this before and the only reason I can think you'd start now is if the girl is very special to you. So, tell me. Give me a reason to do this thing."

Violet smiled ruefully, "You're right. She is more to me than a friend. I love her, and I want to help her."

Edna grinned at the much younger Violet, "Ah, young love. How sweet. So, who is this girl? I want to know all about her."

And Violet told her. She knew that not telling her wasn't an option, Edna would wring it out of her eventually, and Violet was eager enough to talk about Mia.

Edna watched Violet as she spoke. She saw how Violet straightened and her eyes lit up. She saw the smile on her lips grow with every word. She saw the light blush rise on the young woman's cheeks. She saw all this and she knew this was the real thing for Violet. She'd seen the girl go through relationships she'd believed were love at the time, and never had they taken her like this. This was the effect of love on a person. She could practically feel the joy radiating from Violet like a tangible thing. Violet spoke of Mia as Edna spoke of fashion, passion and fondness combining to form an all consuming love. It was a wondrous thing to see it happening for Violet as she'd seen it happen for her parents and as she'd seen it happen for countless other young lovers over the years.

She listened to the girl speak of Mia Rahj, of her beauty, her grace, her poise, her humors, her attitude. She listened and got a sense of this woman she'd never met but had seen at countless celebrity functions, their paths crossing as their client lists did. Already her mind was abuzz with designs, yearning to mold fabric around that shapely form, hands itching to put needle and thread to cloth. She would enjoy this task her young friend set before her. She was happy to help, especially if it meant she would get to see more of Violet in this enamored state. She could feel the girl's happiness and energy, contagious as it was, filling her up and making her feel young again.

When Violet wound down, breathless and grinning, Edna had only one question for her, "Which leg is the cast on?"

After that Violet left with the promise to return in a week to pick up the first of the garments Edna had planned.

***'***

Allison was dumbfounded. Not good enough? How could Mia ever think she wouldn't be good enough for Violet? Hadn't Violet herself sought Mia out? Hadn't Violet just last night professed her love? "Of course you're good enough."

"You can't know that." Mia protested quietly, shaking her head, "She's so sweet, and noble, and perfect. I don't deserve her. I'm not good enough."

"Nonsense! Mia," Allison said, steel in her tone. She reached out and gripped Mia's hands, catching her eyes in an intense stare, "Mia, there's no way to determine what 'good enough' is. And as long as Violet thinks you deserve her, as long as she wants you, you have nothing to worry about. She loves you, Mia. You have to trust in that."

"But what if she stops?" Mia asked, "What if she stops wanting me? Stops loving me?"

"I don't see that happening," Allison said simply, "I've seen the way she looks at you, Mia. She's completely devoted to you. And you know that? Where is this coming from?"

Mia shook her head in frustration, tears starting in the corners of her eyes, "I don't know. I just…I feel, all of a sudden, like nothing I do or have done or could do will be enough. Like she's so far out of my reach. As though she's only stepping down to my level to sate a curiosity. How could a Super ever love a person like me, someone who's contributed to the deaths of dozens of other Supers? There's no reason she should feel anything for me, much less love! And I know that's all wrong because that's not the type of person she is, but I want so badly to be good enough for her, to be worthy of her, and I have no idea what to do to make myself feel like I could be."

"All you can do is love her with all of your heart." Allison said, "I think the fact that you love her, and that she loves you, is proof that you're 'good enough' that you're 'worthy'. Though those are silly ideas for you to have in the first place; love has no concept of worth, it just is. It happens whether a person thinks they deserve it or not. And Mia, of all the people I've met in my life, you deserve love the most. You just wait until Violet gets here. She'll make you forget you had any of these doubts in the first place."

"You really think I deserve love?"

"Don't you?"

Mia's answer was lost as Violet stepped through the door carrying two bags, one of which was emitting a most tempting smell, and one flower. She smiled a greeting to both women and presented Mia with the flower, a purple carnation, "For you, my lady."

Mia smiled in delight. Allison had been right; Violet did make her forget any doubts she might have had. No doubts could stand up to Violet's smile, or the look in her eyes, or the soft brush of their fingers meeting at the flower changed hands. "Thank you," Mia blushed and scented the flower, hiding her shy smile behind its petals.

"What's in the bags?" Allison asked, curiously leaning forward, hoping that some of that food she could smell would be for her.

"First," Violet replied, "Is Mia's change of clothes. Just sweat pants and a t-shirt."

"That's fine. Thank you," Mia was grateful the clothes were so simple. Her leg was in a great deal of pain, despite the medication she'd been given, and anything more complicated or tighter than sweats would be too difficult and taxing to get into.

"Next, is lunch," Violet said, "Chinese. For all three of us."

Mia and Allison gave little cheers while Violet dragged the bed tray over and laid out their food.

They passed the meal in pleasant conversation, Violet telling them about waking up with Borris crushing her sternum and asking Mia how she was feeling. She didn't mention Edna making Mia clothes, wanting that to be a pleasant surprise for when she'd be allowed back to work. Allison told the other two about how her youngest child had waited up far past her bedtime for Allison to come home and read her a story, and how she'd had to read two to make up for being late. Mia didn't have a story, she'd been asleep most of the time since everyone had left the previous night, but she was content to listen to her two favorite people tell tales until the meal ended.

After lunch everything happened in a whirlwind of activity. Allison started the discharge process at the nurse's station while Violet got Mia changed and, with the help of an orderly, moved into the wheelchair they'd be taking back to Mia's home.

Mia sat with her hands in her lap, her casted leg elevated in the chair, the flower spinning gently between her fingers. She was extremely uncomfortable; the jostling of the move had jarred her leg and woken her pain. She was happy, at least, to be wearing modesty preserving pants and looking forward to getting home.

It was only a few minutes after all that that Mia was wheeled out of the hospital and deposited gently into Violet's car, prescription pain meds in hand and care instructions for Violet to read to help Mia heal.

A short car trip later and Violet was pulling in front of Mia's familiar home and settling her into wheelchair, lifting and transporting her much easier and gentler now that she was free to use her powers since they were no longer in danger of being discovered.

Mia was swiftly settled in her own bed, her cat curled against her side, and pain medication ushering her into sleep. Before she dropped off into slumber she felt Violet place a soft kiss to her forehead and heard her whisper, "Sleep well." Then, with a smile on her lips, she surrendered to her dreams.

*****'*****

**A/N:** And there it is. Hopefully future updates won't take so long. So, was it worth the wait? Please review.


End file.
